US Capitol Building
Getty Images/iStockphoto
The 2021 Ederman trust report shows that business is now the most trusted institution, ahead of NGO’s, government, and the media. Government and the media must partner to find a common purpose and take collective action to solve societal problems.
We are experiencing an ‘infodemic which is driving mistrust in governments worldwide. With such a rising tide of misinformation, governments and government institutions need to become much more active in the media to rebuild trust with the public. Lookatmedia™ can support you with this mandate.
Crisis of leadership*
After a peak public trust in government worldwide (61%), there has since been a steady decline in pre-Covid-19 levels (56%). Although traditional media has seen an 8% decline in the last 24 months (65% down to 57%), it is still trusted more than social media (43% down to 35%) and the government.
Increasing dependence on the role of business leaders*
The Edelman Trust Barometer report, as trust declines in societal leaders, states that people are looking to business leaders to take the reins. Of those researched, 86% believe that business leaders should speak out on societal challenges, with 68% believing that these leaders should step in when government fails. This is a worrying trend for democracies.
The path forward
To rebuild trust with the public, governments and government institutions need to lead with facts and acts of empathy. They need to focus more on straight talk, addressing and empathising with people's fears. The best way to start this process is to provide trustworthy content through the media that is trustworthy, unbiased and reliable.
The role of Lookatmedia™
The absence of considered, well researched and supported information in the public arena is the root cause of the current ‘infodemic, which is a plague on all our houses. It is incumbent on government, government institutions and the media to step up and respond with more trustworthy and reliable content. Lookatmedia™ provides a platform where government and government institutions can publish more in-depth and reliable content for use in the media.
The benefit of Lookatmedia™ to the media
Lookatmedia™ is designed as a resource centre for the media. Journalists, media representatives and influencers can access the latest news, events, storylines, backstories and evergreen content, as well as Media Releases and stats and facts for government or government departments. This single source of truth for media engagement allows the media to research storylines, download text and pre-approved images and videos to illustrate their content.
The White House
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Societal leaders must lead with facts and act with empathy. They must have the courage to provide straight talk, but also empathise with and address people's fear.
The White House
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Societal leaders must lead with facts and act with empathy. They must have the courage to provide straight talk, but also empathise with and address people's fear.
Meeting deadlines
News moves fast, and journalists need to move faster. They no longer have a single daily deadline to meet. They must beat the oncoming wave of misinformation on social media. They need access to all the information and resources they need to create their content now. Lookatmedia™ provides secure, low friction 24/7/365-day access to your media friendly content, enabling journalists, media representatives and influencers the ability to meet their deadlines.
There is more than one story to tell
Whether it's negotiating an interruption of services for a local council or dealing with a global pandemic, there is a great deal of information that governments and government institutions need to get into the public arena. Lookatmedia™ allows you to go beyond the humble Media Release or social post by allowing your team to create, publish, and manage content and resources for all media types. Easily create and illustrate more media-friendly content and simplify media sources to access and use this content across multiple channels.
The media is a potential ally
The media has an important role to play in informing the public on matters of public importance. They are an essential ally of the government and government departments. One of the media significant government complaints is the lack of enough in-depth and reliable information provided promptly. Lookatmedia™ allows you to begin to address this information, at once supporting the media in their goals of greater transparency and helping rebuild trust in public institutions.
*Edelman Trust Barometer
The Edelman Trust Barometer was launched in 2000 by public relations firm Edelman. It is an annual survey of the trust and credibility of the world's four major types of institutions: Government, Business, Media and NGOs. The yearly survey is often cited by major news outlets, politicians and academics when discussing trust and is the primary source of information for this article.
