Democracy Prize for Dortmund journalists: This is how trust crumbles!

Democracy Prize for Dortmund journalists: This is how trust crumbles!

A team from the Institute for Journalism at the Technical University of Dortmund was awarded the international Alexis de Tocqueville Award. This prestigious price is awarded annually by the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) for the best paper on democracy and public opinion. The excellent research group consisting of Dr. Thomas Roessing, Kristina Beckmann, Leonie Krzistetzko, Prof. Michael Steinbrecher and Prof. Günther Rager received the honor in St. Louis, USA.

The excellent work deals with the long -term study "Journalism and Democracy", which interviews politicians, journalists and the population in Germany every year. The aim of the study is to shed light on expectations of journalism, trust in the media and the associated criticisms. Among other things, the campaign examines the connection between decreasing trust in journalism and democracy skepticism, as well as the financial satisfaction of the respondents.

media confidence and democracy

The results of the study show a significant connection between skepticism towards the media and dissatisfaction with democracy. According to the study, around 11% of the respondents do not trust the media and even believe that journalists systematically lie. In addition, 15% of the population believes that media and politics work together to manipulate the public. According to [BPB], this skepticism was both reinforced and legitimized by a lack of understanding of the journalistic way of working as well as the feeling of not being represented.

In addition, the negative perception of journalism has been reinforced by terms such as "lies press" since 2014, which have become popular in various political contexts, for example in Pegida and AfD demonstrations. Between 2015 and 2022, 287 assaults on media professionals were registered in Germany, which illustrates the critical situation for journalism.

challenges and solutions

The long-term study is funded by the Presse House NRZ Foundation and also looks at the challenges that journalism has been concerned since digitization. This includes the use of artificial intelligence, which can both support and critically influence journalistic work. The first applications began about ten years ago, with current developments include the generation of content.

experts at institutions such as the London School of Economics and the Nieman Lab of Harvard University are actively looking for solutions for the challenges that the use of AI in journalism brings. The need to strengthen media confidence is emphasized by more transparency and media literacy in the population in order to underline the importance of journalism for democracy.

The study also shows that there are different views of journalism and democracy. In particular, sympathizers of the AfD suffer greater dissatisfaction with democracy and a greater distrust of the media than the majority of Germans. Research thus opens up new perspectives for dealing with media representation and criticism.

For more information about the award and the results of the study, please visit the pages of [TU-Dortmund], [BPB] and [Journalism study].