Fellow project: "Trust and Journalism"
Trust constitutes a fundamental social mechanism that renders decision-making and acting possible without being in full knowledge. Trust is a sensitive social category, the loss of trust happens faster than its recovery. My research focuses on trust and journalism from three viewpoints: First, the contribution of journalism (and mass media) for the creation, development, maintenance and erosion of trust in people, organizations and social subsystems such as politics, economy, science and sports is analyzed. Furthermore, my research revolves around the question which role trust in journalism plays, for example as in the relationship between journalists and their sources. Finally, the factors influencing recipients’ trust in journalism (in journalists, journalistic content and media) come into focus. In order to analytically outline the field of research of "trust and journalism", I shall develop a model that takes into account the social functions of trust and journalism as well as those factors that influence trust as an antecedent for trusting actions in the first place. The research combines findings from the fields of sociology and psychology with insights from the discipline of communication studies. Part of the research focusses on the question of how transfer of trust between the individual, organizational and systemic level is possible. It also examines which strategies are available for the management of risks that are always associated with trust processes.