The blight of “fake news” is “creating new trust in traditional media,” say reporters who responded to an Ogilvy survey.
Ogilvy’s annual survey, polling 250+ reporters and producers in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific in April, found that traditional news media is the most trusted news source at 52% followed by company websites and press releases at 22%.
|
|
Jennifer RisiJennifer Risi, Ogilvy worldwide chief communications officer, said “Fake news has put a spotlight on traditional news and has challenged journalists to put more limits in place to ensure accuracy in the news.”
She added: “Another top contributor to fake news is confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret new information with existing beliefs.”
“As user-generated content increases through blogs and other social media, anyone can post anything at any time,” she said.
Fake News Causes
In North America, 24%, of reporters blamed fake news on social media, 17% on polarized media coverage, 14% on confirmation bias, and 17% on “money.”
|
|
Jordan McCrary“The battle with fake news goes beyond fact-checking and rebuilding trust with the audience,” said Risi. “Globally, 41% said that better reporting is necessary and 24% said that collaboration with social media is important to verify the accuracy of news reports.”
“Reporters around the world are aware of the issue of fake news, but they are also aware of the solutions that could possibly begin to combat the issue,” she said. “Building trust between a brand and its stakeholders is more important than ever in this era of fake news.”
The Ogilvy survey was posted on the website of the Institute for PR by grad student Jordan McCrary.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
