Michael Hogue
A little more than a year and half ago, The Dallas Morning News undertook an experiment in building trust with our readers.
We know that, every day, people who come to our pages have feedback about the way we practice journalism. Many offer praise, but plenty also express concerns about what we covered and how we covered it. I’ve heard those concerns as publisher, and I want to ensure we are always looking for ways to get better.
Two years ago, after many conversations with senior leadership here, I decided I wanted to engage our readers’ concerns directly and independently. So we did something no other newspaper in the U.S., at least that we could find, was doing.
We named a public editor, an independent person to review our work, to respond to reader concerns and to call balls and strikes on what we published. Journalist Stephen Buckley was named to that role, and his first column, headlined “Building Trust”, published May 11, 2024.
Stephen is stepping down from the public editor role, and we have an opportunity now to reflect on what the position accomplished for our readers and how we can develop the trust-building initiative that we believe should be ingrained in every part of our work.
Opinion
What we need is to hear from you. What should The News be doing to more effectively earn and keep the trust of our readers? What are we doing well that has earned your trust? Is the role of a public editor helpful to readers and, if so, how can we sharpen that editor’s responsibilities and critiques of our work?
If you would take one minute to answer this brief survey, it would help my colleagues and me ensure that we are investing in the right areas to build trust with you, our valued reader.
Our relationship with readers is built on trust and on the faith that we are providing fair, thorough and accurate journalism as well as a space for the exploration of competing ideas. We are committed to that work, and we look forward to hearing from you to ensure we are doing it in the best way possible.
Grant Moise is publisher and president of The Dallas Morning News.