Contextualizing Trust: Geo-Ethnic Media, Relatable Storytelling, and Audience Trust

This study explores strategies geo-ethnic journalists use to build trust within ethnic minority communities, addressing two gaps in existing literature. First, while much research discusses ethnic media functions, it often remains separate from journalism scholarship on local news and trust. Second, previous research on media trust has largely focused on audience perspective, leaving journalists’ perspectives underexplored. By bridging these areas, this study situates geo-ethnic journalism as an essential yet understudied part of the American media landscape. Through interviews with 38 journalists, we identify three principles: reporting from within, narrative stewardship, and reporting with cultural consciousness. These principles foster reporting practices that reinforce geo-ethnic media’s role in local communities and offer a new model for nurturing media trust among underrepresented U.S. audiences. Based on these principles, this study proposes the concept of relatable journalism where mutual recognition of belonging between journalists and audiences serves as a central element of trust-building.