View this email in your browser

Today's trust tip: Help your audience navigate the news

Hi there. Joy here.

Consuming the news is an overwhelming experience. I realize that it feels like we could have said that every day since the 2016 election season, but with coronavirus added to the mix, there is legitimately a lot to know.

It's also true that paying continual attention to breaking news alerts is exhausting. A recent Pew Research Center study found that 71 percent of Americans say they need to take breaks from COVID-19 news, and 43 percent say keeping up with the news makes them feel worse emotionally.

We're also headed into a season of potentially less dramatic coronavirus updates, with new cases and deaths slowing. And as people head into summer (and the temptation to take a break from reality), the tendency to check out from news updates could be high.

It's possible, of course, to find a middle ground — one that helps us stay informed without being consumed by and alarmed by repetitive updates. We can help our communities do that. Journalists can offer a path through the news that avoids both extremes.

Who better than you to teach your audience how to be smarter news consumers? And to be a trusted resource around the larger topic of the news?

In late March, when I was hearing a lot from my own friends and family about news fatigue, I wrote some advice for news consumers. It covered where to find quality news, how to check the legitimacy of news sources and how to know when to turn it all off.

Jonathan Lai of The Philadelphia Inquirer did something similar for his readers.

Lai's advice focused on consuming and sharing information responsibly. It included smart advice like: "Be intentional about what you read," "Take a breath," and "Remember: Things change fast."

You can take it a step further by helping your audience create a news diet that works for them. Make sure you're not sending the message that more news is always better. Sometimes, offering a finite experience is a huge relief. (Hence the popularity of coronavirus newsletters, right? A one-stop-shop that can be consumed in one sitting?)

Offer people an on-ramp to a manageable relationship with the news. Show them where they should start, make recommendations for checking in, and acknowledge that it's sometimes important (and encouraged) to turn it all off.

TRY THIS: Talk directly to your audience about ways they can be smart about their news consumption — of your product and others. Let them know that you take breaks from the news (you do, right?) and they should too. Suggest newsletters, podcasts and other products that are thorough but not overwhelming. Consider offering this advice in a newsletter, an online story, a Facebook Live video or even on-air. Ask for their suggestions and questions. Acknowledge their experience and build trust by being a resource they can turn to.

— Joy Mayer, Trusting News director

More COVID-19 advice: It's vitally important that your community trust your work these days, and we want you to get credit for your public service journalism. In this series of posts, we’ll show you (with language you can copy and paste) how to explain what makes your work credible and how to persuasively ask for financial support.

Trusting News aims to demystify trust in news and empower journalists to take responsibility for actively demonstrating credibility and earning trust. It is a project of the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the American Press Institute.