“The path back to trust is going to happen at the local level”

"At a time when public trust in every major institution except local public libraries is below 50%, local television news has some advantages that other forms of media lack.

That was the message from Seth Geiger, president and co-founder of SmithGeiger Group, a consulting firm that works with media organizations. Geiger spoke Friday at “Reinvent: A Video Innovation Summit” at Northeastern University.

According to survey data that Geiger presented, local television news is trusted by about 41% of the public — lower than in previous years, but far ahead of the 29% who say they trust national television news. Ironically, he added that social media is the most used platform for news even though it is the least trusted.

“The path back to trust is going to happen at the local level”

“Usually if you don’t trust something, you don’t use it. But that’s not how this functions. That may feel like a woe-the-republic moment for you,” he said, observing that social media is the top go-to for news among every age group except those between 55 and 64. (Presumably that would hold true for those older than 64 as well, but that demographic was not included in his charts.)"

Continue reading the article online -> 

https://dankennedy.net/2025/03/24/with-trust-tanking-local-tv-news-has-an-advantage-over-other-forms-of-media/?

You can find the survey presentation -> https://www.rtdna.org/news/rtdna-publishes-study-on-trust-in-local-news-elections-coverage