National Credibility Roundtables

APME National Credibility Roundtables Project

To: Mr. Paul Golias, Mr. W. Scott Lynett, Mr. Jim Gittens, and Ms. Lisa Napersky- Citizens' Voice Editorial Staff
From: Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz and Wilkes University COM 260 Basic News students
Date: January 1, 2005
RE: Post-APME National Credibility Roundtables Project Report

It was a very valuable learning experience for us (and we hope for you as well) to host the Associated Press Managing Editors National Credibility Roundtables Project at Wilkes University on November 4, 2004. By recruiting a variety of residents who defined themselves as readers, occasional readers, and non-readers of the Citizens' Voice, we were able to gather an interesting mix of perspectives on how young people between the ages of 18-35 view the newspaper as well as how they read or otherwise consume news.

The attached report reflects the specific perspectives offered in each of these reader groups, and we hope the summary is helpful to the Citizens Voice as you all consider various new appeals to this particular constituency.

At the end of the group summaries of participants' comments, the Wilkes students in that particular group have offered suggestions they believe may enhance Citizens' Voice credibility and reader appeal in this age-group. These suggestions came from class discussion following the NCRP evening at Wilkes and also emerged through our larger analysis of media credibility throughout the semester. Clearly, we offer no feasibility or cost analysis for implementation. Perhaps deeper feasibility analysis of one or two particularly intriguing ideas would be a good project for an Advanced News class?

We also want to thank Lisa Napersky for allotting the generous space for a number of our Letters to the Editor following the NCRP evening. Not only was the page visually very impressive and appealing, but it affirmed for the students the importance of discussing publicly the issue of media credibility. In our view, public conversation on the Op-Ed pages legitimizes a community issue, and the space you allotted for our end of that conversation illustrated that the Citizens' Voice believes in the importance of such reflection.

It is our hope that we can continue our educational relationship with the Citizens' Voice and keep the conversation going. We all wish you well and want to reiterate our thanks for your willingness to work with us this semester. Our respect for your paper was deepened by your interest in learning as much as you can from readers and non-readers alike. Such commitment on your part ensures a connection with the community that can only garner positive results.

Final Report for APME National Credibility Roundtables Project:
Results of November 4, 2004, discussion on Citizens' Voice reader credibility

The following report was compiled by students enrolled in Dr. Andrea Breemer Frantz's COM: 260 Basic News Writing course. Our goal was to assess how readers and non-readers between the ages of 18-35 generally define the credibility of the Citizens' Voice and how that impacts their choice to subscribe to the newspaper. We were interested in learning about consumer patterns as well as how and if they paid attention to issues of media credibility and trust.

We chose to invite participants from an earlier assignment in the course that asked students to identify and observe within a community 'third place,' a space that intentionally draws community members together in order to connect socially, politically, or for economic purposes. While many within the class were successful to that end, some students were forced to draw from other pools outside their third space. We aimed to ensure that all participants were within the target age range, though we couldn't always tell based on physical appearance how old some people were and in two cases we did invite participants who were in their early 40s.

At the event, we began with a brief overview and then broke the participants up into smaller discussion groups of readers, occasional readers, and non-readers. All of the participants defined themselves in these terms and as they applied to reading the Citizens' Voice. We did discover that two of the self-defined non-readers of the Citizens' Voice wanted to make it clear they were not 'non-readers' across the board, and did in fact read other newspapers. In addition, some of the self-defined 'readers' might have been better placed in the 'occasional readers' group.

For each of the groups, our class provided three note takers and a videographer to record what participants were saying. The note takers then pooled their observations and from those observations we offer this report. We have purposefully avoided reiterating comments made several times to streamline the narrative and avoid repetition. In all, we feel the comments are an accurate reflection of the evening's conversations. The organization for the report is based on the individual break-out groups.

We would welcome feedback, questions, or any opportunity to continue this investigation in the future. Please don't hesitate to call or e-mail Andrea Frantz at (570) 408-4165 or frantza@wilkes.edu if we can offer any further insights.

Perspectives Offered by Non-readers of the Citizens' Voice

This report reflects the ideas expressed by those who participated in the self-defined Non-reader Group. For each of the groups, we have opted to identify the participants solely by first name and age (when age was provided). There were 10 community participants involved in this group. The participants included:

Overall, this group was very animated, and willing to engage in the discussion. The participants not only answered the questions posed by the moderators, but they also asked each other and the Citizens' Voice's observers questions. For the most part, the participants led the discussion with little prompting from the moderators. The participants offered many suggestions directly to Mr. Gittens and Ms. Napersky, and offered valuable insight as to why they are not readers of the CV. Some of the most prominent issues discussed included:

This overview will highlight questions posed by moderators and participants' responses.

- Amanda, 20- TV is quicker, more convenient; can hear the TV while doing other things.

- Angela, 26- Convenient; Get most news from radio because it is playing while at work; news is always on.

- Karen, 36- Time is a big factor. I work and rarely have time to sit down and read the paper until later in the evening and by then it's just easier to get the day's events from the television.

- Chris N., 27- Less concerned about news because of work schedule. Interested in news relevant to profession. Internet allows you to search for relevant topics. Does not like newspaper.

- Antonella, 23- Local. Likes to know what is going on in town, such as robberies near home.

- Antonella, 23- Looks for things to do in the area, news or features about entertainment, public celebrations.

- Amanda, 20- Political news. In very interested in learning what she can to make an informed vote.

- Chris L., 20- Looks for something eye catching-good photographs or catchy headlines draw the eye. Skips classifieds.

- Karen, 36- Reads the Sunday paper. Prefers The Times Leader. Likes to see who has a voice, like in the Say-So column. Feature articles are a way of relaxing.

- Others shook their heads no when asked about reading other newspapers. Some said, 'online.'

- Chris N., 27- Looks on the Internet all of the time. Never read the Citizens' Voice online, but the Times Leader periodically for political news.

- Chris L., 20- Wants to know cold, hard facts. Not interested in anything more than the facts. Does not like to read opinions. Opinions wash out the facts.

- Todd, 27- American media is heavy-handed, brutal, and in your face. The news is spoon fed to the people.

- Karen, 36- WBRE credibility of the reporters is good. Needs to have a connection to the reporters like TV personalities. Seeing familiar people on TV makes the news more believable. Dates and times as well as familiar names add to credibility. Likes to see fair balance of both sides, it makes the audience want to watch more.

- Karen, 36- The newspaper is more anonymous. TV is more appealing because you can attach a face to the name.

- Angela, 26- It is like a family. Like you are really there. Feels like you are getting the correct facts from TV.

- Chris L., 20- TV gives cold, hard, facts. It has to; it's faster. Not as much time to give the story.

- Gloria, 41- TV has to state just the facts because there is a limited amount of time.

Chris L., 20 asks Jim Gittens, 'Do newspaper reporters have a limited amount of space?'

- Jim- 15-19 inches of space is standard but it can be larger. Presentation is important to ensure readability.

- Chris N., 27- A section that gives more info. on the reporters. Have an area where the readers could give feedback about the reporters.

- Chris N., 27- Expects mistakes to happen occasionally. Papers can be fooled, too. Political media has less credibility. Difficult to get objective facts from the national media. Local newspapers may have more credibility.

- Todd, 27- Media has a huge national slant. Does not believe political reports concerning elections due to numerous discrepancies. Sometimes the numbers don't add up and it's just frustrating.

- Amanda, 20- By having stations admit that they don't know what the numbers are for the election made it more credible. When trying not to give opinions, it is hard not to. Just have to understand that nothing is perfect.

- Jim- Thinks it was good that CNN waited to call states and gave them credibility.

- Chris N., 27- Watched FOX for that reason to see what each person had to say. Felt that they were trying to be more honest this year. Just reporting facts is boring. Getting both sides is more credible.

- Amanda, 20- Like TV more than newspaper because they give both sides of the issue. Thinks there is always going to be opinion.

- Jim- Newspaper tries to be straightforward, easy to access information. Papers are open to audience feedback in form of letters to the editor.

- Chris L., 20- It is important to not shut people out by using high level vocabulary.

- Gloria, 41- Citizens' Voice uses writing that children could understand. Likes to be mentally stimulated when reading. Would rather read the Times Leader.

- Angela, 26- Thinks tabloid style is nice because it is a good size and is more convenient.

- Feature the writers. Have a column once a week that focuses on one of your reporters. Give information about the reporter such as achievements, awards, etc. Let the people form a connection with the reporters.

- Photographs next to each reporter. Again, it is important for readers to be able to form a bond with the reporters. Putting a face with the name lets the people feel as though they are on more familiar terms with the reporter; therefore making the reporters seem more credible.

- Target a younger age group with a specific column to get young people involved. Have a Community Voice column with a guest columnist each week. Make sure the columnist is NOT a journalist, but rather the average Joe. Someone the community feels they have something in common with.

- Avoid too much opinion, so as not to wash out the facts. Young people feel that even in news stories, newspapers are not totally objective. Do not want to hear opinion in news stories.

- Get to the point in an article as to avoid drawing things out. Young people just want the facts.

In the round table the group that was worked with was the occasional reader group. In this group almost all but one or two were from the community, and they all seemed to know a lot about the community. Some were students; however, the students we invited all live off campus and/or have long-standing ties to the community (are considered 'natives'). The ten (10) participants in the occasional reader group included:

The group moderators were Tyler and Megan B. The group note takers were Lauren, Nathan, and Erica. The video recorder was Jim. All the participants were very informative and our group was surprisingly talkative; there wasn't really a quiet moment. We got a surprising amount of feedback for a group that identifies itself as only reading 'occasionally.' Carl, who previously worked for WBRE and had some prior experience in the media field gave a lot of valuable feedback. Laura, Megan, Stacie, Tracey, Anthony, and Eileen, who are all students gave some interesting feedback on what they would like to see more of in the paper. Mike, Marcus, Kevin, and Carl were all community members who work in the area and also gave some interesting feedback concerning credibility.

- Marcus-reads a variety of newspapers, sometimes for work, sometimes to learn more on a subject he's interested in, for example, the Presidential candidates in this election

- Marcus-reads The Times Leader mostly and reads the advertisements because he works for a local company doing advertising and communication.

- Carl-reads CV for family reasons and The Times Leader is too big of a paper and it's too pushy with phone calls and says the CV is more localized.

- Mike-stays up to date with local issues reading the CV but reads both local papers for national news.

- Carl-Doesn't get lost in it, there is no wasted space, easy to read and not too much fluff.

- Kevin-gives you the facts, lays it out for you, less cumbersome and opinionated. Lets you decide what to think.

- Laura-You can never be too sure of some information left out. One paper can leave out something that the other paper includes-which is correct?

- Eileen-Says she thinks big city papers are more credible because they have more reporters and different voices. In addition, there's a greater emphasis on national/international news. Trusts the wire reports.

- Mark- Based on opinion of who is more credible and he trusts sports/writers who he reads all the time. When you see the same name all the time you start to trust them. He says he never goes to the CV for national news. He goes to USA Today for national.

Is timeliness important, and would you rather hear it first or hold off in order to get more facts?

- Mike-Timeliness is good but the TV offers news first. It is important that the facts are accurate, though, which doesn't always happen on television if the channel is rushing to get the information out first.

- Carl-Newspaper is a hard copy and once it is printed, it is fixed and concrete. Readers know that you can't 'take it back' if it's in print, but television reporters can maybe get away more with loose facts because they're spoken.

If there was a story in the Citizens' Voice that contained misinformation, how would you respond?

- Laura-If they recognize that they are at fault, then that's ok; if they don't, she would switch newspapers. - Carl-Sloppy mistakes happen all the time, that's fine. But other mistakes make newspapers lose credibility fast. Have the recent news scandals (i.e. Jason Blair/ Dan Rather) affected how you view your news source? - Carl-It's news because it doesn't happen that often, but if it keeps happening then there would be a big problem. - Eileen-I am always skeptical and those scandals didn't affect the way I read the paper. - Tracy-If you give false info, the paper should correct it. How does the credibility of the Citizens' Voice compare to other newspapers? - Mark-Because the CV is part of a news alliance it gives the CV a credible backing. - Carl-Newspapers, in general, need to get more info and they should check it all the time. What makes you check the Internet for news over any other source? - Stacey-It's fast and right there. - Mike-It's always up to date but you have to be careful what you read. - Eileen-Cnn.com is easy to check. You can just click to find the news you are looking for. - Megan-NBC.com is my favorite. It's easier, but I don't think about credibility. - Laura-I go to the TV news first, the newspaper second and the internet last, I like watching TV news more. Do you trust the Internet for news? - Mark-I go right to the Washington Post; it's up to date. - Carl-I can't check the CV for an update on things. What they print in the morning is not what they have at night. Newspapers can't give up to the minute news.

- Eileen-yes, I do trust places like CNN.com. They are constantly updating what's happening. Has there ever been a time when you did not like the way in which a story was handled? - Tony-The papers reported on an accident that happened at home at an intersection that was prone to accidents and the paper didn't say what caused it. If they describe an accident they should give more detail. - Carl-In TV news, mispronounced names are just like misspelled names, little things like name spellings can ruin credibility. - Mark-I don't like to see unidentified sources. If you can't name a source for other circumstances, that's fine but papers should name sources.

As a whole, how does the Citizens' Voice compare to other papers? - Kevin-They focus on things in the coverage area and do a good job of hitting issues. - Mark-It's hard because there are two newspapers in the area, even though they have the same news it's different. - Carl-They try to be local and find out it's not just hard news - Stacey-They cover local events and it's important to keep in touch with local events and people look for the people they know.

Is there anything the Citizens' Voice does that you don't like?
- Mark-I think they recognize themselves too much-too many stories about what the Citizens' Voice does.
- Megan-Sometimes they put stupid stuff in there, stuff that doesn't feel like news at all. Like I don't care about church bake sales

- Carl-But I have a feel for the hominess of the city; it is a good representation of the Valley. How do headlines and photographs affect news stories?
- Mike-I read if the headline catches my eye.
- Tracey-If I recognize someone in the pictures I read.
- Kevin-I look for a good, quality headline. Sounds good, is clever.
- Carl-Be unique, make it your own.
- Mark-I go to the headlines and scan. Does the CV des a good job with headlines?
- Laura-They do a very good job, but I don't look for headlines unless I'm in a rush then headlines are important.
- Megan-The CV is like channel 28; there is more personal emphasis than just facts.
- Carl-Your comparison was right on. That's what the News Alliance is all about, but it's also sort of the feel for both of them. WBRE is all about the local and being the voice for the community. A lot of people equate Channel 16 with The Times Leader and 28 with the CV in terms of tone. As college students, how does the Citizens' Voice relate to you?
- Laura-I read it for pleasure; it's up to date and does a good job on keeping in touch with the community.
- Stacey-More entertainment sections are needed, as college students we want to know what is going on.
- Megan-Maybe once a week put a 'what's going on' section in for things on weekends, concerts and events.
- Carl-Why not make a section just for college students? Have there been stories in the past that needed more information?
- Carl-The Kerry defeat was on page 14; it needed more information. Did you think the coverage of the election was done well?
- Laura-I went to the TV during the election because new things were going on.

When a newspaper endorses a candidate, does it affect credibility?
- Laura-I was 100% for Bush and even though the Citizens' Voice endorsed Kerry, I still read the CV.
- Mike-Papers and networks should stay away from taking sides.
- Mark-The CV did back Kerry but the articles were ok and didn't show bias.
- Laura-That's ok if they supported Kerry but there could have been some biased comments.
- Scott Lynett (CV Publisher): There were mixed feelings on how to lean but the editorial board gets together and votes together for each race. They make sure that the backing didn't affect news stories.
- Mark-I can see that in sports. The Eagles are always in the paper, which is ok, because they are a local team and most people here are Philly fans, but there are other teams and they should get coverage too. What can the Citizens' Voice do to make you switch from being an occasional reader to being a full-fledged reader? - Laura-More national news. - Carl-I read the paper backwards for sports. - Megan-I really like this new section 'Go'! - Carl-Gives a story but I want something that is going to make me come back to it again and again. - Eileen-I go to a boarding school and I want a subscription through my school to be accessible to students and schools. - Carl-If it's there I'll grab it. Make it more accessible in stores. - Mark- Let us give more feedback.

- Selecting a specific candidate during an election can decrease credibility. Carefully consider how endorsing a specific candidate reflects on the community

- When reporting about an incident make sure the story is detailed-give readers what they can't get online or on the television

- When talking about sports make sure you mention other teams not just local teams. An example would be talking about the Eagles and not mentioning other teams.

- According to members in our group they have noticed times when stories that have not identified an on the record source. All sources should be named.

- Don't grand stand so much and give your own paper too much recognition for things.

- List more entertainment for young people to do. There are more than four colleges in the local area.

Perspectives Offered by Readers of the Citizens' Voice

There were seven (7) participants from the community who identified themselves as readers of the Citizens' Voice. The members of this group were identified as:

The discussion started off slowly and the participants were initially reluctant to talk. The first question offered dead silence and the participants needed some encouragement to start the conversation. For the most part, four people led the majority of the discussion. All four participants sat together, though did not appear to have any relationship with each other outside this discussion. The other three participants did not say much in the conversation, but mostly agreed with the discussion leaders by shaking their heads. Paul Golias, the Citizens' Voice observer, helped to encourage conversation from the participants by asking questions and throwing out comments.

A majority of the community participants read the Citizens' Voice for the local news; they noted how headlines that dealt with issues in their community drew their attention. They find newspapers more credible than news broadcast as broadcast only has thirty minutes allotted to present information and a newspaper article can go more in depth. Participants stressed the importance of having the letter to the editor signed by the writer to ensure credibility.

- Janal-Prefers to read print; newspaper is the only place where she gets her news

- Tom--Local news, and business in the community, also reads the front page and decides what to read by the headlines

- Christine-Reads the Lifestyle and Home & Garden, looks for mention of Wilkes, and has CNN on all day.

- Christine--The layout is easier to read. Also liked the use of pictures and thinks it attracts readers and makes you want to go in and read more.

- Gabrielle--Has advantage because they don't have to rush news as opposed to television broadcast

- Janal-Upset with change of Sunday format, but liked the tabloid because of less ink on fingers.

What makes a news source credible to you? Do you automatically believe what you read or do you approach a story with some skepticism?

- Tom-No, doesn't automatically trust what's there because he has been to events that the newspaper has reported incorrectly or incompletely, does not always believe what he reads both nationally and locally

- Janal-trusts local news reports and has learned over the years to have faith in them. She reads both papers to compare what she reads. She looks for details that one paper reports and the other doesn't.

- Tom-Doesn't question sports and leisure, but other parts because the news market is so competitive and everyone is trying to get the scoop first.

- Gabrielle-Letters to the editor down grade the area. Stays away from those sections altogether.

- Tom-Signing says you have the guts to stand behind your statements. Thinks 'Say So' column in the other newspaper is 'awful'.

- Gabrielle--Agrees with Tom about 'Say So.' The comments in that section are embarrassing and shouldn't be offered if there are no names attached to them. Papers shouldn't include names in sensitive cases. TL did a story about a local news reporter's sexual preference and the teacher at a local high school. When both local papers ran a story about a local high school teacher who was accused of having an affair with a student, the CV chose not to print the name of the accused teacher until the charges were files. The Times Leader chose to run the name even though there were no charges filed yet. What if that guy had been innocent? That's just ethically wrong.

- Tom-more sources needed, reporters have a tough time knowing the credibility of sources. Need to get as many perspectives as possible

- Gabrielle-It's more credible than TL because of allegations and name disclosure. She will never read the TL because the ethics issue is a big one.

- Nancy- Internet has its advantages because you can check stories online. CNN can do breaking news coverage online and that's helpful if you're interested in being up-to-date like on 9/11.

- Christine-The Internet is least credible and accurate. She questions breaking news because it's right away.

- Gabrielle-The Internet is also questionable because there are no regulations on Internet. Anyone can post anything. How can we know what's right?

Do recent scandals, such as the Jayson Blair and Dan Rather cases, impact credibility?

- Gabrielle-Because the New York Times took responsibility for Blair's ethics lapses on the front page and in a lot of depth, they saved their own credibility. If they had ignored it, or tried to downplay it, or sweep it under the rug and it had gotten out later, it might have really hurt them and possibly the media at large.

- Tom-I don't necessarily think about Jayson Blair when I look at the local papers. Two different organizations.

- Christine-But it is important to look at who is reporting and to know that they have the power to make or break public opinion. That's a lot of responsibility.

- Gabrielle-It's dangerous to take sides; you're always going to offend someone.

- Christine- readership depends on how much news coverage of the candidates you give. The CV does a good job offering the different sides.

- Gabrielle-Reporters should have ethical code to make sure the sources are all good.

- Christine-Everything goes back to the editors. If something slips through, it effects the entire newspaper's credibility, but the editors are ultimately responsible.

What one thing prompts you to buy a newspaper, what makes it essential to have? (Question asked by Paul Golias)

- Gabrielle-Looks for comprehensive local coverage, stories that help make her life easier or help her make decisions.

- Adrienne- 'As a student athlete I look for sports that relate to Wilkes University.'

- Tom-One hour every morning. Reads local news because he wants to know about business in the community and government for work. Usually reads all at one sitting.

- Christine-reads every morning before work. Listens to CNN in her office depending on news that is going on that day.

- Janal-reads both the Times Leader and the Citizens' Voice. Especially reads the Sunday paper, community events and entertainment. Refers the paper to other people for community events.

- Gabrielle-reads a little before work, more in the evening after dinner. Probably an hour total.

Suggestions for Increased Credibility Among Readers of the Citizens' Voice

- Some readers pay attention to ethics and choices about printing names of suspects. They value restraint, or at least a 'humane' approach to things, and it also helps to print the policy in questionable cases so that readers understand why certain editorial choices are made.

- Avoid any similarity to "Say So." Names need to go with all editorial comments. Readers seemed not to have a problem with the fact that there are sometimes no by-lines with staff-written editorials, though, we'd argue that names behind claims can only serve to strengthen what you print.

- We encourage CV reporters to be as visible as possible in the community. The community puts faith in regular names and faces and the more visible reporters can be, the more readers can feel as though they know them, the more trustworthy they seem.

- Editors should push reporters to make sure that all information in the stories is verified and is as complete as it can ethically be. Tom's example of the environmental story on Mt. Top that hasn't offered all it can in terms of detail, background, and context is an important one.

- We encourage some careful consideration to possibly strengthening the Citizens' Voice website. Some readers note that they do look at other websites for up-to-the-minute news. The Citizens' Voice could possibly bolster readership among young people if they know that they can access up-to-date information from their work computers. We think that it makes sense for the CV to aim to be the home site of choice among your professionals. Give them something to go there for and they are likely to want to subscribe to the paper as well.