HLS Beyond Presents: Vibes Matter – What Makes us Trust the News?

The news industry has two primary tasks: Accurately report what’s going on and present that info in a way that reaches people. It’s been failing at the latter — as of 2024, more people say they deeply distrust the media than trust it, and audiences are moving from traditional outlets to social platforms and individual creators. Ben Reininga, former Head of Editorial at Snapchat and 2024/5 Nieman & Berkman-Klein fellow is researching what makes users trust news videos — with the hope of providing more insight and tools to news publishers to help them connect with users. This session will begin with a presentation on the state of the news industry and news creator landscape and then move into an interactive workshop. Participants will watch a series of news videos and then answer questions and discuss their reactions. Our goal is to build a shared understanding of what characteristics users are responding to, as part of this ongoing research. REGISTRATION REQUIRED  Lunch will be provided