Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School

The deadline for submissions for the 2025 Goldsmith Book Prize is TONIGHT, Dec. 18 at 11:59PM ET! There is no entry fee and we award $5K to the winner in each category. Learn more and submit here: https://loom.ly/6ykPSZk

The deadline for submissions for the 2025 Goldsmith Book Prize is this Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 11:59PM ET! There is no entry fee and we award $5K to the winner in each category. Learn more and submit here: https://loom.ly/6ykPSZk

Interested in learning more about our new Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting? Check out our informational webinar for insights on the goals of the new prize and the types of reporting it seeks to honor: https://loom.ly/QqQIOns #GoldsmithAwards

The deadline for submissions for the 2025 Goldsmith Book Prize is just a week away on Dec. 18 at 11:59PM ET! There is no entry fee and we award $5K to the winner in each category. Learn more and submit here: https://loom.ly/6ykPSZk

Today I published a paper with the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School about what journalists can learn from the online content creators who engage in journalist-style work and are building huge, loyal audiences that eclipse those of traditional media. I argue that the shift in attention can be attributed, in part, to the different types of relationships that journalists and creators have with their audiences. I describe those relationships through the lens of the three elements of trustworthiness — ability, benevolence, and integrity — that must be present for trust to exist in a relationship. What I found was that individual creators often worked hard to demonstrate ability, benevolence, and integrity to build trust with their audiences. They narrate their expertise, respond to reader questions or suggestions, and interact with their critics — all tactics that help build trust. News institutions have put less effort into building trustworthy relationships with audiences. They have cut back on comment sections, public editors, and other forms of interaction with the public. This does not mean that journalists are inherently less trustworthy. They often have rigorous internal processes for verifying information, but those are rarely exposed to the public. In other words, journalism has placed many markers of trust in institutional processes that are opaque to audiences, while creators try to embed the markers of trust directly in their interactions with audiences. My hope is that we can learn from creators about new ways to build trust with audiences. https://lnkd.in/eB-3ZRi8

On Trust: What Journalists can learn from Content Creators The survival and success of both traditional journalists and online content creators is largely dependent on the relationships they build with their audiences. In a new paper, “The Future of Trustworthy Information: Learning from Online Content Creators,” author and Shorenstein Fellow Julia Angwin examines these relationships through the lens of trustworthiness — a valuable commodity that is fueling the creator economy but remains in short supply for many journalists.  Key takeaways: 1. Engagement: traditional journalism has often relied on institutional trust, whereas creators focus on building trust through direct interactions with their audiences.  2. Embracing Expertise: in the service of “objectivity” journalists often divorce their personal expertise from their reporting, whereas creators make a habit of informing their audiences of their expertise early and often.  3. Service Journalism: by taking a cue from creators and offering more practical and useful content like how-to guides and resources, journalists can strengthen community ties and highlight the real-world benefits of journalism. 4. Transparency and Accountability: when creators get something wrong their audiences are quick to sound-off in the comments and hold them accountable. By contrast, many news outlets have removed their comment sections as well as their ombudsmen. Read the rest of Angwin’s analysis and insights here: https://lnkd.in/eAVspXcs

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: we are now accepting submissions for the 2025 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, as well as our new Prize for Explanatory Reporting and our Book Prize! Learn more and submit you entries: https://loom.ly/qpAE1Jo #GoldsmithAwards #ExcellenceInJournalism #InvestigativeReporting #ExplanatoryReporting

Join us for a conversation this Thursday, Dec. 5 at 4PM ET with award winning writer, journalist, and founding director of the Shorenstein Center, Marvin Kalb, about his new book, “A Different Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a Collision Course." This is the third volume of Marvin Kalb’s memoirs, and draws on the record Marvin kept of his daily CBS broadcasts as a young American journalist stationed in Moscow during the Cold War. The conversation will be moderated by Fredrik Logevall, the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of History and International Affairs at Harvard University. Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/etyr7EDM

Join us for a conversation this Thursday, Dec. 5 at 4PM ET with award winning writer, journalist, and founding director of the Shorenstein Center, Marvin Kalb, about his new book, “A Different Russia: Khrushchev and Kennedy on a Collision Course." This is the third volume of Marvin Kalb’s memoirs, and draws on the record Marvin kept of his daily CBS broadcasts as a young American journalist stationed in Moscow during the Cold War. The conversation will be moderated by Fredrik Logevall, the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of History and International Affairs at Harvard University. Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/etyr7EDM

Rehan Mirza discusses the implications of social media platforms’ decision to step back from efforts to address election misinformation and toxic content and offers some steps the public can take to help voters stay informed as they navigate social media this election.