People don’t think journalists have standards, and too often, we don’t do anything to correct the record
Let people know you have standards (on every story!)
If someone questions the ethics and motivation behind your coverage, how easy would it be for them to find information explaining your standards and best practices?
Unfortunately for many journalists, the answer is often: Not that easy.
That’s why we were excited when Seth Prince, the student media director and adviser of the University of Oklahoma’s student newsroom OU Daily, shared the student newsrooms’ new Daily Standard boxes that routinely link to their policies.
OU Daily’s new automated standard boxes
In June, OU Daily staff decided to create a box that would link to some of their policies as well as invite folks to get in touch with the newsroom. The best part: Staff automated the box so it shows up on every story and video on the newsroom’s website.
After revamping their ethics statement and About page the past few years, the team was looking for ways they could explain their values to their audience in day-to-day content.
The student newsroom leadership workshopped the framework and wording of the boxes with the goal of creating a “concise version of all that work with regular visibility for our community,” Prince wrote in an email.
(We’re also glad to say that Prince reports the idea for the box was directly inspired by discussions and trainings with our Trusting News team. Prince is on our 2026 Journalism Advisory Committee).
Here’s a look at the box — which includes a link to their corrections policy, contact page and commenting policy.
And people seem to be noticing them! Since introducing the boxes, Prince says they’ve seen a boost in engagement, both in terms of the number of submissions they’ve received as well the number of visitors to their standards page.
Taking this concept further
We’re big fans of boxes like this (mostly because we know transparency can help move the needle when it comes to earning trust). Adding content to stories is good — journalists should be reminding their audience of their standards anywhere people will consume their content (think social media, newsletters, podcasts).
These types of boxes can also be great places to highlight other information about how you or your organization operate: your mission, your approach, your goals, etc. Or as we’ve written about before, these can also be great opportunities to engage your audience more deeply by asking them questions, like KUOW does routinely. (Just a note that this can work especially well with election content!)
Boxes linking to your standards alone won’t solve trust, but they can be a great step in inviting your audience to better understand how you operate.
At Trusting News, we learn how people decide what news to trust and turn that knowledge into actionable strategies for journalists. We train and empower journalists to take responsibility for demonstrating credibility and actively earning trust through transparency and engagement. Learn more about our work, vision and team. Subscribe to our Trust Tips newsletter. Follow us on Twitter, BlueSky and LinkedIn.
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.
