A civil discussion of restoring trust in media

As my mind swirls around on all that is affecting our industry, I find myself wishing that we had a convention right now so that we could be together. 

By LISA CHAPPELL, TPA President 2025-26

I ask myself if I’m craving the in-depth discussions with my peers on how to maneuver these choppy waters. Or could it be it that there is comfort in numbers to fight the feeling of being alone on this island?

But we are not alone, thank goodness. We share the responsibility to defend the First Amendment, but that defense must be peaceful and rooted in respectful dialogue.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a fascinating conference hosted by The Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan leadership organization. Its members are leaders throughout Texas, and its mission is to identify, educate and prepare young future leaders. 

This group has multiple conferences a year. Topics vary, but they all have one central focus: civil discourse. Let that sink in. 

Remember when that was a thing? Lyceum members don’t just say the words “civil discourse,” they walk the walk. And I witnessed it.

I felt like I stepped back in time for a day and a half. It was if I was in this bubble that did not exist outside of those walls. I was amazed at the conversations swirling around me that featured vastly different viewpoints but no raised voices, no finger pointing, no shaming, no vile, putrid spewing of words. It was a bubble wonderfully unlike the world outside.

The title of the convention was “Informing the Future: Instability and Innovation in Media.” The slated topics were the state of local news/ political coverage, expertise in newsrooms and watchdog journalism.

Attendees asked pertinent questions, and you often could feel some of the lack of trust in media in those questions. But most of the time the questions came from genuine curiosity. What they got in return was transparency from the media. 

I went into the conference expecting a chorus of voices singing that the mainstream media is dying, that we distort news reports with opinions and slanted facts, blah, blah. I went in ready to defend us and give all the reasons media is necessary for government transparency, the crucial importance of the First Amendment and the necessity of a free press.

That was the dialogue I had with myself driving to the conference. As I write this, I realize it sounds like I have PTSD from all the haters, and maybe I do. 

The reality of the conference inside the bubble was that the participants were full of thoughtful ideas, commentary and desires for a media that can be trusted. There were multiple panels of journalists that ranged from non-profit news outlets to metro newspapers and even known journalists that have moved on and started their own news company.

I will say that what they missed in the slate of panelists was hyper-local small community newspapers, but that group was not overlooked and was brought up in many discussions.

The Lyceum takes polls on various topics, and prior to this convention they took one on Texans’ media consumption habits. The results show that 56% say their main news source is part of the mainstream news media and 25% rely on sources other than mainstream. No surprisingly, the poll shows reliance on social media for news is generational, with 47% of those under 30 using it regularly. 

This poll also shows that 25% of Texans use local new outlets as their main source for news. Next with 24% is social media, and then 20% using national new outlets. Some 19% use friends and family as their news source, 13% large newspapers, 11% podcasts or alternative cable news and 8% each for talk radio and political leaders/public officials.

What I walked away with was valuable feedback and the in-depth perceptions of people who also believe in a free press. However, they often expressed a reluctance to trust the media. 

How do we gain that trust back? 

We need to have conversations with not just those who love us but with those who don’t. We need to listen to what our communities want from us and take that to heart. 

We should always prioritize being right over being first. We should update breaking news regularly but always verify before updating. 

We also need to be transparent. We must show consumers how our sausage is made. Invite the public in to see what we do, have reader advisory or editorial boards and do it at the newspaper if possible. 

And we should always do our damndest to get to the truth.

In the end I walked away from those meetings with pride and a renewed hope for our future. The people have not all written us off yet, thankfully. Many believe that newspapers are more important today than ever, but we must gain back their trust.

And lastly, I found that civility is not dead.