PERHAM — You deserve to know the news you’re reading is based on facts and ethical journalism.
That’s why the Perham Focus has joined The Trust Project, which aims to help newsrooms and journalists actively demonstrate credibility.
We know you rely on accurate information to make confident decisions for your life. But there is a lot of misinformation out there – some of it very convincing, which allows that misinformation to spread quickly.
The Trust Project partners with newsrooms across the country – including ours now – to experiment with and implement a variety of trust-building strategies. As of Wednesday, May 11, you’ll notice consistently clear labeling on our opinion and sponsored content, as well as more transparent and robust “About Us” pages, newspaper and company policies, FAQs and more on our website, perhamfocus.com.
You can read our policies and standards here .
ADVERTISEMENT
The Perham Focus has always been committed to delivering local news that our communities can trust – our work with The Trust Project simply makes it easier for readers to identify the types of content they are seeing, and to familiarize themselves with our news reporting policies, mission, vision and values. The ‘About Us’ pages also allow readers to know their local journalists and more easily connect with us when they see an error or have a question.
The Trust Project uses eight Trust Indicators as a framework: Best practices; author/reporter expertise; type of work labels; citations and references; methods; local sourcing; diverse voices; and actionable feedback. These indicators are a collaborative, journalism-generated standard that help both readers and search engines assess the authority and integrity of news. They were developed from user-centered research and are adopted by all program participants.
Sally Lehrman, founder and chief executive of The Trust Project, said, “We proudly welcome the Perham Focus into the global Trust Project. Their commitment to accuracy, inclusion, impartiality and accountability underscores journalism’s vital role in every community – and throughout democracy. Together, the Trust Project Network amplifies integrity-based journalism and slows the spread of false and misleading claims around the world.”
To learn more about The Trust Project, visit thetrustproject.org.
The Trust Project
