Research

News Trust

Person-Centered Terms Encourage Stigmatized Groups...

August 24, 2022

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Resolve Philly to explore a small, yet impactful, way that journalists can connect with misrepresented or stigmatized audiences: using person-centered language, as opposed to stereotypical labels, to describe communities in news articles....
Person-Centered Terms Encourage Stigmatized Groups’ Trust in News

Understanding Election Fraud Beliefs: Interviews ...

June 9, 2022

The Center for Media Engagement interviewed 56 people who believed that Donald Trump most likely won the 2020 presidential election to talk about their political outlooks, how they constructed their picture of what happened in the election, and what sources they trusted to tell them the truth....
Understanding Election Fraud Beliefs: Interviews with People Who Think Trump Likely Won the 2020 Election

How Local Newsrooms Can Better Connect with Conser...

August 16, 2021

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Trusting News and 27 local newsrooms to investigate how news organizations can help bridge the divide between the media and American conservative and right-leaning audiences....
How Local Newsrooms Can Better Connect with Conservative and Right-Leaning Audiences

How to Connect with Disinvested Local News Audienc...

July 7, 2021

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with the Dallas Free Press to explore how Dallas residents perceive local media and how they think that media can better serve their communities....
How to Connect with Disinvested Local News Audiences

How to Signal Trust in a Google Search

January 27, 2021

The Center for Media Engagement tested several versions of a Knowledge Panel — a search sidebar that provided information about a news outlet — to see which elements affected trust....
How to Signal Trust in a Google Search

News Distrust Among Black Americans is a Fixable P...

November 18, 2020

The Center for Media Engagement asked Black Americans how news organizations can better cover their communities to help bridge the divide between them and the media....
News Distrust Among Black Americans is a Fixable Problem

Gaining Trust in TV News

June 30, 2020

The Center for Media Engagement examined how TV news stations can increase trust by including certain elements in a story....
Gaining Trust in TV News

Reporter Bios Alone Aren’t Enough to Boost T...

February 27, 2020

Providing reporter bios on a news website is a common practice. The Center for Media Engagement has already shown that reporter bios, when used in combination with other trust strategies, can boost reader trust in and engagement with news. Now we wanted to test how biographies alone influence reader perceptions....
Reporter Bios Alone Aren’t Enough to Boost Trust

Testing Behind the Story Cards

January 30, 2020

We explored whether the placement of the Behind the Story card on a news organization’s website affects readers’ recall of the card and trust in news....
Testing Behind the Story Cards

What People Want to Know About the News

October 31, 2019

Knowing what readers want out of a story – or what they think newsrooms often fail to address – provides an opportunity to increase trust....
What People Want to Know About the News

Story Labels Alone Don’t Increase Trust

October 3, 2019

The Center for Media Engagement wanted to find out if labeling news stories (using labels such as news, analysis, opinion, or sponsored content) increases trust....
Story Labels Alone Don’t Increase Trust

Moderating Uncivil Comments Hurts Trust In News

July 18, 2019

The Center for Media Engagement’s previous research showed that uncivil comments can taint the perception of a news site. Now, we…...
Moderating Uncivil Comments Hurts Trust In News

Building Trust: What Works for News Organizations

February 26, 2019

The Center for Media Engagement’s new study aims to help news organizations build trust with their audiences....
Building Trust: What Works for News Organizations

Trust in Online News

December 12, 2017

The inclusion of Trust Indicators can result in higher opinions about the news organizations and journalists that use them, according to the Center for Media Engagement's research with the Trust Project....
Trust in Online News