How Do Journalists Make Decisions On What To Cover?

A lot has changed in American civic life in the last four years. Among those changes has been the relationship between the public and the news media — fueled in no small part by the nation’s most prominent press critic, President Donald Trump. Trump’s comments have a receptive audience among some of his supporters. A Pew report last year looked at whether people have “confidence that journalists will act in the best interests of the public.” Democrats were far more likely than Republicans to say yes by a gap of 46 percentage points.

As President Trump’s time in the White House ends and a new administration comes in — one expected to have a more traditional relationship with reporters — how can journalists regain public trust?

To answer this question and more, The 21st spoke with an associate professor of journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a political reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat.

Guests:

Nikki Usher, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Journalism, UIUC

Kelsey Landis, reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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