Overcoming Biased News with Honest and Authentic Storytelling

Turn on your TV to cable networks before 4 pm and you39re met by an onslaught of talking heads providing little more than color commentary on the day39s most salacious events or talking points from one political party or anotheramp160 Tune in after 4 pm and you39ll find a horde of opinions masquerading as news reality shows that are somewhat news adjacent or reruns of old crime showsPerhaps this is why only 21amp160of US adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center said they place a lot of trust in the information national news organizations provide and why only 26amp160of survey participants could correctly identify fact from opinion when shown five different statementsamp160 It39s the job of the news media to separate the wheat from the chaff and the data is clearamp160 The incumbents have failed the viewing public miserablyPartisan opinion programming hasn39t just made our world worse for viewersamp160 Advertisers the lifeblood of our industry are viewers tooamp160 And they39re becoming increasingly fed up with their brands being associated with boycotts and scandals connected to news contentamp160 We know advertisers want to access the kind of informed and empowered audience only news programming can provide but they are losing places to do soIt doesn39t have to be this wayamp160 We can do so much better as an industry and it all starts by going back to our roots and celebrating what makes television news so fantastic in the first place honesty and authenticity paired with the power of videobased storytellingTo make that happen we have to take a long hard look at ourselves and our industryamp160 We have to leave the centers of power and focus less on the echo chambers of New York Los Angeles and Washington DCamp160 We have to remind ourselves that people don39t necessarily see news anchors as authentic or relatableamp160 Most importantly our industry has to realize that there is more happening in the world than what the president tweets no matter what those tweets sayAt Newsy we view our approach to news as part of the solution to diminishing trust of the mediaamp160 Our headquarters is in the Midwest Columbia Missouri to be exact along with a new 22000 squarefoot newsroom in Chicagoamp160 That important regional diversity amid a coastalcentric industry means we also think about what stories really matter between the coastsamp160 We are grounded in our roots and strong in our convictions because we truly believe there is a better way to do the newsamp160 We39re investing in journalism not pundits to better inform our viewers about the issues that face an increasingly complex worldThat investment is already making our country a better placeamp160 Our recent joint investigation quotCase Cleared How Rape Goes Unpunished in Americaquot led the FBI to expedite a process to reform its national system for tracking crimes in order to require the nation39s police agencies to report unfounded crimesamp160amp160Our reporting about doctor depression and suicide prompted state boards to reconsider and revise their handling of the mental health of physiciansamp160 Our finding that Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace safety enforcement is down at a time violence against nurses at work is skyrocketing inspired lawmakers in the House to introduce a bill to protect healthcare workersStories like these matter and the impact will be felt for years to comeTelevision is a unique mediumamp160 Each night tens of millions of Americans turn on their televisions and invite strangers into their homeamp160 Some want to laugh some want to be thrilled and many of these viewers tune in to the news to be better informed than they were beforeamp160 For those seeking the latter it39s our job to make sure they39re getting that information not more partisan bickering or opinionPhoto creditamp160 Rawpixel UnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Overcoming Biased News with Honest and Authentic Storytelling

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Blake Sabatinelli

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Overcoming Biased News with Honest and Authentic Storytelling

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