NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Cat Murphy, a college student, has wanted to be a journalist since she was 11. Many of her friends don’t understand why.
When they engage with the news 鈥� if they do 鈥� they hear a cacophony of voices. They don’t know who to believe. Reporters are biased. They make mistakes. Besides, why would you hitch your future to a ?
鈥淭here is a lot of commentary 鈥� 鈥極h, good for you. Look what you鈥檙e walking into. You’re going to be screaming into the void. You’re going to be useless,’鈥� said Murphy, a 21-year-old graduate student at the University of Maryland’s journalism school.
She is undeterred. And it’s also why she’s not surprised by the findings of a that documented negative attitudes toward the news media among 13- to 18-year-old Americans. The press in surveys of adults, but it’s sobering to see the same disdain among people whose opinions about the world are still forming.
Words to describe the news media today
Asked by the for one word to describe today’s news media, 84% of teens responded with something negative 鈥� 鈥渂iased,鈥� 鈥渃razy,鈥� 鈥渂oring,鈥� 鈥渇ake, 鈥漛ad,” 鈥渄epressing,鈥� 鈥渃onfusing,鈥� 鈥渟cary.鈥�
About half of the teens surveyed believe journalists give advertisers special treatment, make up details such as quotes, or pay or do favors for sources 鈥渁lways or almost always鈥� or 鈥渙ften,鈥� and about 6 in 10 say journalists regularly take photos and videos out of context. About one-third or less believe that reporters correct errors when they happen, confirm facts before reporting them, gather information from multiple sources or cover stories that help protect the public interest at least 鈥渙ften鈥� 鈥� practices ingrained in the DNA of reputable journalists.
To some degree, teens reflect the attitudes they’re exposed to, particularly when the most prominent politician of their age has made 鈥渇ake news鈥� . Experts say few teens follow news regularly or learn in school about the purpose of journalism.
Journalists don’t help themselves with mistakes or that make headlines. Opinionated reporters or commentators in an era of political division make readers wonder what to believe.
鈥淪ome of this (attitude) is earned, but much of it is based on misperception,鈥� said Peter Adams, senior vice president of research and design for the Washington-based 草莓传媒 Literacy Project.
Never picking up the news habit
There are ways to turn things around, but it will take work.
Many of Lily Ogburn’s classmates get their information from social media. Their parents didn’t watch or read news reports as they grew up, so they didn’t pick up the habit, said Ogburn, a senior at Northwestern University’s journalism school.
Ogburn is the former editor-in-chief at the well-regarded Daily Northwestern student newspaper. The newspaper’s 2023 reports on alleged hazing and racism within the school’s football program led to the of its coach. Still, she found some students don’t understand the newspaper’s role; they believe it exists to protect people in power rather than hold them accountable.
She frequently had to explain what she did to classmates. 鈥淭here’s a lot of mistrust toward journalists,鈥� she said. But it has firmed her resolve to stick with the profession.
鈥淚 want to be a journalist that people trust,” Ogburn said, 鈥渁nd I want to report news that makes people believe and trust in the media.鈥�
The news industry’s financial troubles over the past two decades have hollowed out newsrooms and left fewer journalists on duty. Along with not seeing much legitimate journalism, young people frequently don’t experience it through popular culture 鈥� unlike a previous generation, which learned in detail how Washington Post reporters Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Academy Award-winning movie 鈥淎ll the President’s Men.鈥�
When the 草莓传媒 Literacy Project asked, two-thirds of teens couldn’t think of anything when asked what movies or TV shows come to mind when they think about journalism. Those who had answers most frequently cited the 鈥淪pider-Man鈥� franchise or the movie 鈥淎nchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.” Neither portrayal was particularly flattering.
Upon retiring as editor of 草莓传媒day, Howard Schneider helped develop the State University of New York system’s first School of Journalism. But instead of teaching future writers, editors or producers, he became drawn to teaching non-journalists about being news consumers.
Now the executive director of SUNY Stony Brook’s , Schneider wasn’t surprised about any of the recent survey’s findings, either.
鈥淭he negativity, the feeling that news is biased, is just a reflection of how their parents feel,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淭he more exposed to news, legitimate news, the more their attitudes turn positive.鈥�
He has developed news literacy programs for school districts. 鈥淪tudents will say, 鈥業 get my news from YouTube,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 say, ‘No, you don’t,'” and explains where the news originates and how to be discerning about what they see.
Lessons from a news literacy class
That’s one of the lessons that 16-year-old Brianne Boyack has taken from her course in news literacy at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. She had little trust in news going in, but has learned the importance of double-checking sources when she sees something interesting and seeking outlets she’s found reliable.
Her classmate, Rhett MacFarlane, applied what he learned in class to investigate when a friend told him the Louvre was robbed in Paris.
鈥淚’ve learned that there is definitely fact-checking (in journalism),鈥� MacFarlane, also 16, told The Associated Press. 鈥淵ou guys are professionals and you have to tell the truth or you’d be fired. I thought you guys just did whatever you wanted and chose what to say about a topic.鈥�
Still, news literacy programs in schools are relatively rare. Schools already have a lot of subjects to cover to prepare students for the future. And, remember, journalists don’t have the best reputations. It can be hard for educators to stick their necks out for them.
鈥淭here’s an inertia here,鈥� Schneider said, 鈥渁nd this is an urgent issue.鈥�
At the University of Maryland, Murphy said she didn鈥檛 think there was an inherent hatred toward journalists among her fellow students. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have any experience reading journalism,鈥� she said.
That’s where she sees the journalism industry needing to make more of an effort. One of the things she finds most frustrating about her chosen field is a resistance to change, particularly an unwillingness or inability to make meaningful use of social media.
鈥淭here鈥檚 very little movement in the direction of going to where people are, as opposed to expecting them to come to where you are,鈥� Murphy said. 鈥淭he only way to turn it around is going to be to switch to doing things that captivate people today, as opposed to captivating people 20 years ago.鈥�
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at and
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