In a political environment characterized by polarization, trust in the media is low.

Polling done by The Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University found that seven out of ten residents in six swing states do not trust the media to report fair and accurate political news.

With the 2024 presidential election coming up, it is more important now than ever for the press to act its part as the fourth estate. But, is this still possible with such a small belief in it and bias everywhere?

Tim Roberts, Kent State journalism senior lecturer, believes that it is, and it will start with the independent press stepping away from partisan politics.

“An independent press, which is my definition of the fourth estate, is absolutely essential for democracy, for citizens to be able to make informed, intelligent decisions,” Roberts said.

Partisan news outlets do not follow one of the key tenets of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics: act independently. So, is this really considered part of the fourth estate press?

Roberts said it is up to citizens to decide.

“The media consumer has to be … more media literate,” he said.

KSU journalism professor Jacqueline Marino agrees, saying the blame is shared between the reporters and the consumers.

Since so many people live in “information bubbles” on the internet, they can easily consume whatever media aligns with their personal beliefs, so they do, Marino said.

“People have never wanted to hear bad news,” she said. “They’ve never wanted to hear news that makes them scared or sad, and so a lot of times, people choose the news that caters towards whatever they want the facts to be … instead of what the fact-based truth really is. We have to figure out how to get to people where they’re at and make them trust us.”

The June 27 presidential debate on CNN was a prime example of how important it is to be a literate media consumer.

With no live fact-checking during the high-stakes event that drew in 51 million viewers, it was up to citizens to analyze issues discussed on their own. But, at the same time, shouldn’t it have been CNN’s job to inform their viewers during the presentation?

“CNN, they’re part of the fourth estate … that’s their role, their ethical obligation,” Roberts said. “Maybe they could have found a better way to do it.”

Marino said journalists were not very on top of things during the debate, but it was not exactly the moderators’ role to keep the candidates in check.

Afterward and in the moment, there was fact-checking in other places, but not everybody is going to seek that information out.

Roberts said the debate could have led to CNN losing the trust of its viewers, and at the end of the day, trust is the most important thing.

He said that it is a journalist’s ethical responsibility to make sure all information they present is factual and fair, being skeptical of authoritative voices, but not cynical.

On the consumer’s side, Marino said voters need to expose themselves to things they don’t want to know.

A lot of the partisan reporting happening today is because news outlets have begun chasing profit over truth.

“They have chosen making money over honesty, and quite frankly, the greater good,” Roberts said. “And that has led to trust issues.”

This business model issue was not a problem in the days when news only came from newspapers, Marino said.

Newspapers would make money through advertisements, and advertisers wanted to reach as many people as possible, so there was no separate news for different political parties.

Now, to stay afloat, news outlets have to either charge their consumers a subscription fee or only target people they know will support them.

This is a large part of the problem of fake news and bias, but there is still an incredible amount of good, fair journalism.

New methods of reporting have emerged, such as Signal Akron, a nonprofit, community-led news site that is working to produce trustworthy news.

More and more news is coming directly from the voices of people within communities, which adds a trust factor, as well as more diverse voices.

Roberts said consumers are automatically more trusting of a news source if they see people who look like them being interviewed, writing a story or reporting on a story.

“That’s really important, just being as inclusive as humanely possible,” he said.

Marino said she is an eternal optimist and knows that most people do want to know the truth of what goes on in America.

She believes if citizens become more literate media consumers, biased sources and fake news will not spread as easily, and the real independent press will be able to cut through the noise.

“The news media, they’ve got to be watchdogs,” she said. “We’re in a situation in America where we have so much media, and anybody can call themselves a reporter … not knowing the truth causes suffering on a very big scale.”

Marino said she aims to teach her students, the next generation of the fourth estate, how to be the kind of journalists the country needs in order for democracy to survive.

“Journalism is the first rough draft of history,” she said, quoting publisher of The Washington Post, Phil Graham.

“Ultimately, the truth of most things will come out.”

Lauren Cohen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].