Welcome to the July edition of The Trust Report, your monthly deep dive into all things trust from the Edelman Trust Institute.
This month, we are exploring trust in the media, and the role of transparency and lived experience in shaping public perception.
At our annual Trust Summit in New York, we hosted nearly 70 guests at the Columbia Journalism School for a day of insightful conversations on the state of trust across media, business, NGOs and government.
While The TrustMakers took a one-month hiatus (even podcasts need a vacation!), we’re sharing a recent episode with Doug Martin, CMO of General Mills, that we thought you might enjoy. We’ve also released all podcast episodes to date on YouTube.
How Journalism Can Earn Back Trust
A Conversation with Jelani Cobb & Astead Herndon
At this year’s Trust Summit, journalists Jelani Cobb and Astead Herndon delivered a candid conversation on the erosion of trust in media and institutions, and what it will take to rebuild it.
For Astead, distrust is not ambiguous. “People aren't confused about why they lost trust in institutions, they think they’ve been lied to,” he said, pointing to issues like the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation. “What that builds to is elections that are about frustrations, not solutions.”
Jelani, who is also Dean of Columbia Journalism School, underscored how journalism must evolve to better reflect the public it serves. “We have tried to broaden the aperture for people getting into journalism school,” he said. From reaching out to veterans to increasing socioeconomic diversity, Jelani emphasized that journalism must include a full spectrum of lived experiences. “Our remit is to explain human affairs. We need all kinds of humans.”
They also suggested a shift towards embracing authenticity and avoiding false pretenses.
“People care about fairness... about knowing you made it clear that you went through a process that took into account facts and context,” Astead observed. “I don't think they necessarily want you to do the performance of objectivity that we often engage in.”
Credibility Depends on Method, Not Just Message
To that point, both agreed that more transparency around methodology and background could help journalists restore credibility and connection with the public, even suggesting writers include a detailed citation of their reporting with articles.
“One thing I consistently tell students who have a question about reporting on something they feel passionate about – your passion should exist in direct proportion to your methodology. The more you care about an issue, the more you should push yourself to review your methodology,” Jelani advised. “Because those are the dangerous things that come back to bite you. The basic question you didn't ask because you thought you understood it from 12 different angles.”
Towards the end of the conversation, they argued that journalists as well as business leaders should be more expressive and transparent about the origins of their values and decision-making frameworks.
Astead concluded, “My real takeaway is that the clarity of values matters almost more than what those values are.”
The Trust Summit is the Edelman Trust Institute’s annual gathering of institutional leaders. The event is held under Chatham House Rule and enables leaders to discuss and debate key issues related to trust-building.
Jelani Cobb is the Dean & Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School.
Astead Herndon is a national political reporter for The New York Times and host of the The Run-Up, a New York Times Politics podcast.
Percent who agree, by sense of grievance
2025 Edelman Trust Barometer. ATT_MED_AGR. Below is a list of statements. For each one, please rate how much you agree or disagree with the statement using a nine-point scale. 9-point scale; top 4 box, agree. Question asked of half the sample. General population, 26-mkt avg., by Sense of Grievance scale. Certain data included in the scale was not collected in China or Thailand. For a full explanation of how the Sense of Grievance scale was developed, please see the Technical Appendix of the report.
A Podcast From Edelman and Advertising Week
The TrustMakers is where listeners learn from global experts about what it takes to build trust in today’s society.
Doug Martin, CMO of General Mills, joins Edelman’s Amanda Edelman to discuss how brands can stay personal in a fragmented digital world. He shares how General Mills is shifting from mass messaging to individualized experiences and using data and empathy to meet consumers where they’re at, especially in everyday moments like dinnertime.
