New Britain Herald (Conn.), April 18:
A poll released last weekend suggests that as few as 6 percent of people say they have a lot of confidence in the media. The trust level, according to The Associated Press, is about equal to their faith in Congress (!) and well below the public’s view of other public institutions.
We were of course saddened to read these findings because our reporters and editors work hard every day to bring you straightforward, honest coverage of central Connecticut. But we were cheered by the conclusion that much of the public’s view of media is fueled by Americans’ skepticism about what they read on social media. Frankly, we share their concerns.
The goal of many of these sites is more than to provide information; they hope to sell, entertain or persuade – particularly in the political arena. What they offer may be inaccurate, third-hand or simply gossip – but gossip far more dangerous than back-fence conversations because it is read and, often, repeated millions of times with the click of a “like.”
Of course, even the best news organization occasionally makes mistakes or is misled by a source – and often that mistake is repeated by other online venues without correction.
The poll shows that accuracy clearly is the most important component of trust. So we wanted you to know: We work very hard to be both informative and accurate. And, when we make a mistake, we will tell you about it. In fact, we’ll go further. We will correct any misinformation both in our newspaper and on our website so the error doesn’t linger in cyberspace.
Because, even though we strive to be first in letting you know what’s going on, being right is an even higher value to us– as we know it is to you.
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