Mission | Staff | Board of directors | Advisory Committee | Collaborators | DEIB | Funders

Our mission

We inspire and empower journalists to evolve their practices in order to actively earn trust.

Our vision

All people should have access to — and be able to identify — journalism that is responsive to their needs, equips them to navigate their communities, and reflects their diverse priorities and values. In a world in which news consumers are confused and exhausted by information, responsible journalists should be transparent and proactive about why they are worthy of trust. 

Our approach

Trusting News inspires and empowers journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating their credibility and actively earning trust. We equip journalists to listen and engage with humility and to explain their integrity through day-to-day transparency. We use research-backed, newsroom-tested strategies to support journalists in building a better relationship with the people they aim to serve. We work in a continual cycle of research, learning and sharing to make sure the work evolves. Read about our body of research here.

Our foundational beliefs

• Communities need access to news that reflects their diverse lives and values and is responsive to their priorities and feedback. 
• Listening and humility should be central to how journalists operate. 
• It’s up to journalists to invest in telling the story of what makes their own work valuable and trustworthy.

Our staff:

Director: Joy Mayer (she/her) founded Trusting News in 2016 after a 20-year career in newsrooms and teaching. She spent 12 years at the Missouri School of Journalism, where she created an audience engagement curriculum and a community outreach team in the newsroom of the Columbia Missourian and also taught web design and print design. She lives in Sarasota, Florida, and can be reached at joy@TrustingNews.org or on Twitter @mayerjoy. 

Assistant director: Lynn Walsh (she/her) is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has worked in investigative journalism at the national level and locally in California, Ohio, Texas and Florida. She is the former Ethics Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists and a past national president for the organization. Based in San Diego, Lynn is also an adjunct professor and freelance journalist. She can be reached at lynn@TrustingNews.org and on Twitter @lwalsh.

Project manager: Mollie Muchna (she/her) has spent the last 10 years working in audience and engagement journalism in local newsrooms across the Southwest. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, where she is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s School of Journalism. She can be reached at mollie@trustingnews.org and on Twitter @molliemuchna. 

Board of directors

The following seven members, alongside Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh from the Trusting News team, make up Trusting News’ board of directors. 

Andrew DeVigal holds the endowed chair in journalism innovation and civic engagement and is the director of the Agora Journalism Center at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism & Communication. A constant connector and bridge builder, DeVigal’s leadership at the school has led to industry-recognized initiatives such as Gather, a platform to support community-minded journalists, and the Doers Gathering, a toolkit to drive community-driven solutions addressing pressing local issues. Before joining the UofO, DeVigal was the multimedia editor at The New York Times.

David Grant is the bridge between Blue Engine Collaborative and its friends and partners. Prior to joining Blue Engine, David spent four years at Facebook/Meta, managing many of its programs, investments in local media, and support efforts for news “creators.” His prior experience includes eight years at The Christian Science Monitor where, as associate publisher, he led the team responsible for driving digital and print subscriptions. He began his career as a political reporter at the Monitor. 

Richard T. Griffiths, board treasurer, retired as vice president and senior editorial director at CNN in 2017 following a 26-year career with the network. He led reporting and investigative projects that won multiple George F. Peabody Awards, the Overseas Press Club David Kaplan Award, two Emmys, a National Headliner Award and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal. He is active in the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and the University of Georgia Grady College Board of Trust. 

Kristen Mueller is a media strategist specializing in digital transformation and performance-driven change. Muller is the former chief content officer of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR). Under her leadership, SCPR transformed from a leading public radio station in Los Angeles into one of the most innovative local journalism outlets in the country. Previously, Muller worked for CBS News as a producer for the CBS Evening News and associate producer for 60 Minutes II. She is a recipient of the prestigious JSK Fellowship at Stanford University and was a 2018 Columbia University Punch Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow.

Ellen Russ is a Human Resources and Operations executive with 30+ years of experience across diverse industries, including media, financial services, not-for-profit, and technology. In her most recent role as Senior Vice President at Warner Bros Discovery, Ellen led the talent strategy for over 4,500 employees across CNN and WBD Sports. Ellen holds an MS in Social and Organizational Learning from George Mason University and a BA in Sociology from the University of Virginia.

Reuben Stern, board chair, is the director of the Missouri School of Journalism’s New York program and the director of New York City partnerships for the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Previously, Stern was part of the RJI Futures Lab team and served as the managing editor for the Columbia Missourian, where he directly oversaw the day-to-day operation for the website and daily newspaper. Before joining Mizzou, Stern worked at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; The Budapest Sun, an English-language newspaper in Hungary; and the Los Angeles Daily News. 

Nick Swyter is a program manager at The New York Times specializing in launching and managing philanthropic-funded journalism initiatives. Prior to working at The Times, Nick worked as a program associate at Knight Foundation and oversaw a portfolio of journalism grants focused on topics such as pro bono legal services, reducing misinformation, local news collaborations, and startup development. He previously worked as a broadcast news producer in Arizona and as a magazine editor in Miami.

Newsroom Advisory Committee

The newsroom advisory committee helps keep us plugged into what support is needed, and give us candid, constructive feedback and ideas about how Trusting News can be most helpful. Read more about the committee here. 

Dana Amihere is a data journalist, designer and developer. She’s the founder/executive director of AfroLA, a nonprofit newsroom covering greater LA through the lens of the Black community. She’s committed to solutions reporting that centers racial and social justice, especially through data-driven storytelling. Previously, Amihere worked in data, interactive design and news apps for KPCC/LAist, The Dallas Morning News, Pew Research Center and The Baltimore Sun. She owns Code Black Media and has taught at the University of Southern California and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Dylan Goforth helped launch The Frontier, a nonprofit investigative journalism outlet based in Oklahoma, in 2015. He became the outlet’s executive editor in 2017.

Nicole Ki is a reporter with Reverb, a MPR News team focused on serving younger Minnesotans. Previously, Nicole was a human rights reporter for the Argus Leader in South Dakota, where she covered mental health and criminal justice, as well as worked at several outlets in Madison, Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in Asian American studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Originally from Long Island, New York, Nicole is a first-generation Chinese American raised by two immigrants from Hong Kong. She is passionate about telling stories that shed light on underrepresented communities.

Danny McArthur is the environment and communities reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom. This beat centers those most vulnerable to climate change’s effects and communities impacted by environmental hazards and poor public policy. Prior, Danny was the community voices reporter for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo. She is a University of Georgia graduate, where they wrote for the Red & Black.

Becky Pallack wears many hats as a co-founder, journalist and operations executive at Arizona Luminaria, a nonprofit news organization based in Tucson, Ariz. She was previously a beat reporter and a product manager in local newspapers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in journalism and innovation from West Virginia University.

Jacqué Palmer is the senior editorial director for newsletters at The Boston Globe, overseeing editorial vision, strategy, and execution for the Globe’s two dozen newsletters. Palmer is an award-winning email designer, audience journalist, and email expert specializing in audience lifecycle development. Since 2015, she’s developed strategies for deepening loyalty, increasing growth, and maximizing revenue — via email — for leading media publications like Vox, USA TODAY, and The Palm Beach Post.

Sabrina T. Sanchez is an award-winning investigative journalist and Engagement Producer at ABC10. She specializes in investigative reporting, audience engagement, and data-driven storytelling, exposing systemic failures and driving meaningful change. Her work has garnered recognition from the Peabody, duPont-Columbia, and IRE Awards. She is dedicated to journalism that informs, amplifies underrepresented voices, and fosters real-world impact.

As the Director of Digital Content and Engagement at WEHCO Media, Allison Shirk works closely with the company’s 10 daily newsrooms in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri. Her role involves training editorial staff in best practices to develop reader-funded, sustainable newsrooms, and she communicates key audience metrics and tactics to help news teams improve their storytelling and digital presence to boost subscriber acquisition and retention. Before her current role, Allison was an editor and reporter on various beats in Tennessee and Florida.

Elizabeth Smith is the director and adviser of Pepperdine Graphic Media and is an associate professor of journalism at Pepperdine University. She is the teaching chair for the Scholastic Division of AEJMC and recently concluded her term as president of the National Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press, where she continues to serve on the board. Her professional journalism experience includes print newspapers, web and broadcast news.

Erica Smith is the managing editor for digital at the Times Union and has worked in local news media for 25 years. Erica has a bachelor’s in journalism and a master’s in entrepreneurial technology. She was the Local Media Association’s Local Media Digital News Innovator of the Year in 2018, is a past chair of the Local Media Foundation, and collects typewriters.

Carlos Virgen is the senior editor at The Modesto Bee. Before that, he was assistant manager for audience at The Day in southeastern Connecticut. He has worked at local news organizations — as an editor and multimedia producer — for almost 20 years in Los Angeles, Washington state, Connecticut and the California Central Valley.

Frequent collaborators

• Jenn Brandel, Hearken 
• Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Temple University
• Joshua Darr, Syracuse University
• Patrick Johnson, Marquette University
• Liz Kelly Nelson, Project C
• Jaisal Noor, Solutions Journalism
• Eve Pearlman, Spaceship Media
• Sue Robinson, University Madison-Wisconsin
• Benjamin Toff, University of Minnesota

Dimensions of Difference

We address issues of diversity and newsroom culture with our Dimensions of Difference guide, which supports newsrooms in identifying, understanding and talking about their own differences internally.

For help with how you can do this work in your newsroom, reach out to our team.

Trusting News work in the news

Here’s a look at how our work has been featured in other publications. Read more about our impact and what journalists have to say about our work here.