Declining Trust in Institutions

Over the past three decades, public opinion polls have reflected diminishing confidence in all of our democratic institutions. The news media and community sector have not been immune to this loss of faith. A 1996 poll by National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that only 11 percent of those surveyed felt "a great deal" of confidence in the press.12 In fact, one study found that more than 70 percent of Americans believe that the press gets "in the way of society solving its problems."13

A string of highly publicized scandals about financial wrongdoing and mismanagement at major not-for-profit organizations has weakened public confidence in the community sector as well. The Gallup Organization in a 1996 national study found that public trust in charities' use of funds is decreasing. The percentage of respondents who disagreed with the statement, "Most charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of funds" has steadily increased, from 20 percent in 1990 to 31 percent in 1996.

This lack of trust is evident at the local level as well. As one news editor said: "There are many (not-for-profits) that are doing very good things, but then we hear about United Way's scandal (nationally), we hear about the NAACP scandal... these are the things that have tarnished this particular sector of society in recent years." Other news leaders had this to say: "Carrying the nonprofit banner is just not the blessing that it used to be." "There is a lot of (media) perception that nonprofit organizations have become to a great degree self-perpetuating bureaucracies. That makes it difficult to feel supportive of them. This is partially because of the proliferation of them and partially because of the sophistication and the bureaucratic way in which they have to go about raising their funds." "There (seem to be) an awful lot of foundations out there that really are doing little more than supporting somebody in a job... they may have good things in mind but not be accomplishing anything... we should be looking at waste in these foundations."

Local not-for-profit executives say that many times a lack of trust keeps them from even trying to tell their story to the community through news media. In Good News/Good Deeds focus groups, Puget Sound-area nonprofit executives had this to say: "I just do not trust that the media are going to carry my message or the message of my organization with integrity to the public." "You've got to be careful not to get sucked into a negative story." "I have an ethical dilemma when I'm put in a position to present information about my organization to the media. It's got to be stated in a way that appeals to the media, but that's not necessarily the way it needs to be presented to do a good job of covering the issue. It's the choice between doing something clever and something honest." "We once tried to have a press conference to discuss the effect that scheduled (state budget) cuts in school lunches and food stamps would have," recalled one agency head. "We didn't get very far with it because the media told us it was not newsworthy yet, that the time to contact them was when the cuts had occurred so they could point to people who were suffering. It's difficult to find the angle to get the kind of coverage early enough that would, in this case, encourage more intelligent discussion on the part of decision-makers."

One foundation executive recalled orchestrating an interview between one of Seattle's major dailies and the foundation's major donors to discuss philanthropic initiatives: "The donors wanted to talk about the work. The questions from the paper included, 'What's your dog's name?' The story came out like a feature from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

Trust between the media and not-for-profits could grow if a productive relationship between the parties could grow. But, not-for-profit executives say, building relationships with news media is a challenge — if not downright impossible. Focus group participants commented: "Because of the turnover in reporters, it's difficult to cultivate the kind of relationship we want, to cultivate a productive relationship." "How do I find people within the media who are educated about the issues I deal with, so that we can build relationships with them so that our story, with integrity, can get out?"

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