Reinforcing or Rethinking? What do News Consumers Want from Journalism in the Post-Truth Era?

Martin Moland, Jacopo Custodi and Hans-Jörg Trenz
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Martin Moland: ARENA—Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, Norway
Jacopo Custodi: Department of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy
Hans-Jörg Trenz: Department of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy

Media and Communication, 2025, vol. 13

Abstract: Policymakers and news producers have long grappled with the challenges that fake news and misinformation pose to quality journalism. This has given rise to an extensive body of literature, covering various aspects from the characteristics of fake news to strategies for addressing it. However, the preferences of news consumers regarding the future of journalism and their views on how journalistic commitment to truth can best be maintained remain relatively overlooked in scholarly research. This article utilizes primary data from a survey ( N = 4,521) fielded in Norway, Italy, and Poland in 2023 to show that, even in contemporary media environments, people continue to regard traditional journalistic ideals as the normative goals for future journalism. This suggests that journalists in an age of post-truth should focus less on rethinking journalism and more on adhering to its traditional goals of unbiased dissemination of facts.

Keywords: disinformation; fake news; journalism; journalistic quality; post-truth politics; public opinion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:meanco:v13:y:2025:a:8823

DOI: 10.17645/mac.8823

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