It won’t have escaped your attention that we’re having a general election.
What the press report and how they report it could have a significant impact on the final result – it could also help recruit a new generation of readers looking for trusted sources of information and analysis.
In 1992, The Sun famously claimed to have won it. It’s unlikely this time around that any newspaper will be able to make such a claim, or indeed would want to.
In today’s digitally disrupted world, ‘trust’ is the new currency, something which doesn’t sit well with partisan posturing.
The next few weeks will give the press ample opportunity to demonstrate the trustworthiness of its election coverage. To that end, I would suggest the following dos and don’ts:
Do be:
- Questioning
- Robust
- Consistent
- Unbiased
- Informative
- Insightful
- Reliable
Don’t be:
- Misleading
- A player
- A lapdog
The good news is that none of that should cause any problems for a properly trained journalist.
The less good news is that some in the press have clear political preferences and will work hard to deliver the election result they want.
Sadly, such a position is unlikely to foster trust long-term or pull in new readers.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
