This week in my "Understanding News Audiences" class we discussed America's trust in news organizations. Clearly, this led me to examine my own trust in news organizations and media outlets. It just so happens that my trust is pretty low.

It seems that most media organizations think that if the public is skeptical of them, that it's a negative thing. I believe that unless the general public questions the media, and is selective about what they choose to believe, than there will constantly be someone in the media trying to spin things in a way to fit their own agenda.

This book review posted on Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that there is clearly a need for resources in reach of both the public and media professionals. "BLUR: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload", a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel outlines different things that citizens can do to help decide whether or not their news media can be trusted.

The book lists the following “Six Essential Tools for Interpreting the News”:

1. What kind of content am I encountering?

2. Is the information complete? If not, what's missing?

3. Who or what are the sources and why should I believe them?

4. What evidence is presented and how was it tested or vetted?

5. What might be an alternative explanation or understanding?

6. Am I learning what I need?

I think these are basic and simple “tools” that every person should already be using to figure out whether or not their source of news is legitimate. “In an age when the line between citizen and journalist is becoming increasingly unclear, Blur is a crucial guide for those who want to know what's true,” touts the review. It’s interesting to me that people might not automatically think of “rule 3” (identify the sources and why I should believe them). As a journalism major I sometimes forget that not everyone has been instructed to discriminately review each source of information and double check it against other sources. Hopefully, people will begin to use the knowledge set forth in this book to help identify news sources that are honest and trustworthy. I think that only then will American confidence in news organizations begin rising.