“Kelly McBride, who heads Poynter’s ethics faculty, said that after lengthy study she found audiences really want to know more about how stories are reported than about a reporter’s background.
” ‘People assume you have an agenda anyway, whereas if you tell them what your agenda and plans for a story are it takes some of the guesswork out,’ said McBride.
“Readers also appreciate it when a news outlet offers a succinct index of stories on a topic so they can see how a story has evolved.
“Politifact.com and FactCheck.org have enhanced the sense that they keep the government and politicians honest. No person or party seems to catch a break and a long list of findings can be found in a click or two.
” ‘What people really want,’ McBride said, ‘is more reliable information not more information.’ “
