This post was originally published on this site
As they recover from a painfully fraught 2024 election, news media —particularly local broadcasters — find themselves facing significant financial challenges at the same time that they are contending with a growing erosion in audience trust.
Their response to these twin challenges must be to double down, according to CBS News and Stations President Wendy McMahon.
“Never before has the work of a journalist been more important,” McMahon said. “Never before has the work, the mission, the profession felt so precarious.”
Speaking in New York on Tuesday, where she accepted a 2024 Giants of Broadcasting and Electronic Arts award from the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation, McMahon acknowledged the industry’s need to address wrenching change.
“Admittedly, the outlook for the industry can be a bit foggy at times,” she said. “That’s true for any number of reasons. Yes, we face headwinds in broadcasting but if you look across the country the number of local newspapers that have been gutted, been closed down [has resulted] in news deserts where people do not have access to trusted news and information.
“It’s also true that we can’t ignore the number of surveys that indicate a growing lack of trust in journalism, in what we do,” McMahon continued. “Fact-based journalists are continually buffeted by purveyors of disinformation and misinformation. We