The Crisis of Trust in Broadcast Media—and a Path to Redemption
With declining viewership and rising alternatives, local media can find new hope by focusing on what truly matters: community and credibility.
The 2024 U.S. presidential election has thrown a glaring spotlight on the evolving dynamics of broadcast media consumption and public trust. The statistics tell a stark story: Only 31% of Americans trust the press to report the news "fully, accurately, and fairly" (The Atlantic, 2024). Major networks like MSNBC and CNN have experienced drastic declines in viewership—a 53% and 47% drop respectively, post-election (The Atlantic, 2024).
Meanwhile, alternative platforms are thriving. Nearly half of Americans—and a remarkable 60% of those under 35—now turn to podcasts for information, while platforms like TikTok are reporting unprecedented engagement with political content (The Atlantic, 2024; TIME, 2024). This isn’t just a trend; it’s a seismic shift in how audiences consume and trust information—a shift the media industry can no longer afford to ignore. Having spent two decades in media, I can tell you that none of this is surprising. These warning signs have been building for years. We’ve heard the calls for change and seen the data piling up. Yet here we are, at a critical juncture where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Broadcast media challenges are many: perpetual executive missteps, rapid shifts in audience behavior, and relentless industry consolidation. But at the root of it all lies one undeniable truth: This isn’t just an issue of declining ratings—it’s a foundational crisis of trust.
I speak from personal experience: my broadcast news consumption has dropped significantly over the past month+. Instead, I’ve found myself turning to TikTok—not just for trending memes, but as a genuine source of news. TikTok’s creators deliver content that feels authentic, unfiltered, and—most importantly—trustworthy. They’ve also captured the very audience traditional media is desperate to reach: Gen Z.
Take my 17-year-old daughter as an example. She’s not suddenly going to wake up one day and embrace the traditional news, weather, traffic model. This generation isn’t going to “grow into” our format. This time, it’s different. If we don’t adapt, we risk losing them entirely.
The billion pound gorilla in the room—who knows if the next administration will ban TikTok, but for now, let’s set that aside. Many in our industry still question its credibility, seeing it as a platform for entertainment. But here’s the truth: TikTok has tapped into something far more powerful—a sense of community.
Creators on TikTok aren’t just sharing content—they’re forging personal connections. They build trust by focusing on what matters to you, with the algorithm adapting accordingly—whether it’s the latest AI platform tutorial, gardening tips, or deep dives into history. For me, TikTok feels like a global community—a place where I’m excited to learn, discover, and engage with creators who feel like friends.
What’s fascinating is how creators leverage credible research and deliver professional-quality content that resonates deeply with their audiences. And they’re doing it with an efficiency and scale that traditional media simply can’t match.
Yes, there’s unreliable content, but let’s not pretend that’s unique to TikTok. Savvy consumers today know how to identify credible sources and do their due diligence. What TikTok has done—and what many traditional outlets are failing to do—is foster trust through authenticity and shared passions. It’s this ability to build collective communities around common interests that sets it apart.
In an industry grappling with declining trust, there’s a lesson here: people gravitate toward platforms and voices that feel genuine and aligned with their interests. That’s where trust is built, one authentic connection at a time.
Let’s face it: competing directly with TikTok isn’t just unlikely—it’s a lost cause, and that’s okay. Instead, we need to focus on what we can uniquely own: our localized communities. We have the opportunity to be the go-to source for authentic, community-driven engagement that global platforms simply can’t replicate.
Let me be clear though—this isn’t about the same tired “digital transformation” bullshit we’ve been spewing for years. The real solution lies in rebuilding trust, and that means reconnecting with our audiences on a community level. Decades ago, local TV stations were integral parts of their communities—today, we’re often just another channel people flip past.
To rebuild trust, we need to create genuine opportunities for connection—not just with the content we produce, but with what truly matters to people in their everyday lives. We need to become facilitators of community conversations, not just broadcasters of information.
Platforms like Chord Communities offer a promising path forward. I’ve been working with Chord over the past few months and keeping a close eye on them for years, given their unique approach to solving this challenge. Chord is specifically designed to drive media growth through community engagement. By integrating solutions like Chord into a local station’s digital infrastructure, I believe that we can start building these small but powerful community connections. People will come to trust your platform because it’s where they go to connect with others who share their passions. It’s an organic rebuilding of trust, driven by genuine engagement—not by telling people why they should trust us.
At the recent Local TV Strategies event in New York, we got a glimpse of how to reimagine local digital news by delivering it to users in the way they prefer: as part of a station’s social feed.
Instead of using our promotional airtime to boast that we’re the “#1 news source in [insert city here],” what if we used that time to promote community building? What if we leveraged our reach to bring people together, not just to inform them but to connect them—whether it’s to a local initiative, a hobbyist group, or an important conversation. That’s how we rebuild trust—one genuine connection at a time.
It’s not going to be easy. The challenges are real, but so is the opportunity. People are seeking diverse, authentic narratives—and if we can be the ones to give that to them, there’s hope yet for a renewed, meaningful role for broadcast media.