Reasserting the Relevance of Media Trust: A Response to Jakobsson and Stiernstedt (2023)

This article responds to Jakobsson and Stiernstedt's (2023. “Trust and the media: Arguments for the (irr)elevance of a concept.” Journalism Studies 24 (4): 479–495) invitation to critically examine the significance of media trust. They argue that there “is a lack of strong arguments for why falling levels of trust in the news media are legitimately described as a crisis or problem” (479). Their critique offers a valuable counterpoint to the (often implicit) assumption that news media trust is always positive. Still, I argue for closer examination of their central arguments to move toward a comprehensive synthesis. I draw on political science literature and research on the consequences of media trust to reassert the importance of media trust for news consumption, democracy and ontological security. Without a comprehensive synthesis, debate over media trust risks becoming polarized and binary, with scholars selectively citing research that supports their views. The paperproposes two ways forward. First, a dynamic conceptualization of media trust similar to a “thermostat” where media trust provides a baseline openness to information, while vigilance operates as an adaptive regulator, selectively heightening scrutiny. Second, combining cultural and institutional perspectives to develop a more nuanced understanding of the significance of media trust.