How local news stations are trying to win back trust

Sept. 9, 2025 — It’s the fourth year for the RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey asking news directors what, if anything, they were doing to address concerns about audience trust in their news.

Of the TV news directors who responded, 60.7% said they were taking steps to build trust in their station. Stations in the top 100 markets with the largest staffs were most likely to report taking action. Newsrooms in the South and West also stood out for saying they were doing something.

Only 33.1% of radio news directors and general managers say they have addressed audience concerns about trust in media.

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About the Authors

Bob Papper is Research Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and has worked extensively in radio and TV news. 

Keren Henderson is Associate Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and has worked as a news producer and video editor. 

Tim Mirabito is Assistant Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and worked in television, radio, print and online media. 

This research was supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.

About the Survey

The RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2024 among 1,918 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,763 radio stations. The television response rate is different for every question, but valid responses came from as many as 1,406 television stations (73.3%) and 599 radio news directors and general managers representing 1,632 radio stations. Some data sets (e.g. the number of TV stations originating local news, getting news from others and women TV news directors) are based on a complete census and are not projected from a smaller sample.