The concept of trust falls into almost all discussions at news companies: reader revenue, AI, advertising, young readers, fake news, and new avoidance to name a few.

During two study tours as part of the recent INMA World Congress of News Media in London, attendees heard about trust from many of the news executives on the 20 study tour stops. Here’s how two of those, Politico and Reuters, are approaching the topic.

Politico focuses on knowing audience, non-partisan content

Having a very focused audience and knowing your target market inside out is crucial to success in news, according to Kate Day, deputy editor-in-chief of politics and policy at Politico Europe.

Dey spoke with INMA study tour attendees about how the UK vote on Brexit in 2016 led to an explosion of interest in the EU and Brussels, and taking their time to create a product that stood out to address this leading news item was essential. 

“We wanted to build a list for our Playbook to know if it would work and people would read it,” explained Day. The Playbook is a politics-focused newsletter that reaches readers before they start work. Expanding from its U.S. and European editions into London had to be done successfully through a “very focused audience,” she said. 

Day set up coffees with 60 people working in Westminster and remarked that 59 of these people didn’t want “another e-mail” to read every morning. But persistence in the product by ensuring it had incredible policy depth and analysis has helped them set apart from mainstream news organisations. 

Politico’s goal now is to be “the dominant source of politics in the democratic world,” according to Day.  “We can only win if we can be the best at something. Our readers are our sources, and the readers needed Politico to do their jobs because their bosses read it and we reference their meetings.

“Now we know everyone in UK politics read Politico every morning.” 

To maintain trust in their brand and prevent news avoidance from happening, Day believes that if you’re reporting is “strong and non-partisan, it gives you the best chance to compete with news avoidance”.

Reuters gains trust of young readers by reporting their topics of interest

Tackling news avoidance and verifying fake news can help build trust, according to Reuters’ leading editors. 

The younger demographics are “prone to news avoidance,” according to Joanna Webster, global managing editor/visuals at Reuters, and new strategies are need to help combat this trend. 

“We’re trying to reach the younger generation [by] focusing on climate change and developing innovative solutions,” said Webster. Along with reporting on the climate emergency, Reuters has hired a global race and justice editor in response to some of the topics younger readers are interested in surrounding social issues in culture. 

A key part of this strategy is to find new “ways we tell those stories” to engage and build trust with this audience, Webster said. 

Nick Tattersall, global managing editor in newsroom at Reuters, recognises how AI has accelerated a “threat to trust in news” overall, but he wants to ensure that the three of Reuters’ five Trust Principles – freedom of bias; supplying a reliable news service; and adapting the news product to maintain its leading position in the industry – directly related to the use of AI are upheld and not ignored in the face of using new technology.

Monitoring fake news during elections, like in the upcoming U.S. Presidential election this year, is a part of reinforcing trust in the media, and a dedicated fact-checking unit has been developed at Reuters that will work with social media companies to identify and stop disinformation spreading.

“It will be a dedicated news service analysing social media accounts known to be influential,” says Reuters’ Europe News Editor Rachel Armstrong, “We will challenge if claims are true or not before something goes viral. For the U.S. elections, we’ve already had Trump’s latest Wisconsin rally speech fact-checked.”

Armstrong shared the news company has already deployed a dozen fact-checking journalists focusing on disinformation in English and Spanish for these elections.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .