Panel to Address News Media Trust and Credibility

The University will host a Town Hall panel discussion about “Trust, Credibility and the News” on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in Leahy Hall.
Area journalists and editors will join with representatives from academia to discuss “Trust, Credibility and the News” at a free, public Town Hall Panel Discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall.
Area journalists and editors will join with representatives from academia to discuss “Trust, Credibility and the News” at a free, public Town Hall Panel Discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall.

Recent poll show “trust” and “confidence” in the media drifts below 50 percent. A poll by Reuters/Ipsos, released on Oct. 3, found 48 percent of adults surveyed said they had a “great deal” or “some” confidence in the press. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll, published June 29, found that 36 percent of respondents “said they approve of the mainstream media” with 50 percent saying they “disapprove of the press.” In a Gallup poll published April 5 of this year, 62 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said the media favors a political party (Of those who perceive political bias in the news, 64 percent believe the media favors the Democratic Party).

    Unfortunately for the news media, these numbers are not new. Gallup polls going back to the 1990s show a perceived bias in the news media, however perception of media bias has become more pronounced in recent years.

    Area journalists and editors will join with representatives from academia to discuss the state and perception of news coverage at a free, public Town Hall Panel Discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall.

    Panelists Larry Holeva, executive editor of The Times-TribuneCitizens’ Voice and Standard-
    Speaker
    ; Dave Bohman, investigative reporter at WNEP-TV; Matthew Reavy, Ph.D., associate professor of communication at The University of Scranton; and Steven DePrimo, managing editor of the University’s student newspaper The Aquinas, will discuss “Trust, Credibility and the News.” Mark Cohen, president of the Pennsylvania News Media Association, the Pennsylvania News Media Association Foundation and MANSI Media, will moderate the discussion.

    The event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania News Media Association, The Times-Tribune and the Department of Communication at The University of Scranton.

    Dr. Reavy joined the faculty at the University in 1998, having previously worked as a journalist for the Scranton Tribune, the Hometown Publications chain of weekly newspapers and the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting. His areas of teaching and research include journalism and ethics.  Dr. Reavy earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Scranton, and his doctorate degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

    DePrimo, Waldwick, New Jersey, is a senior journalism and electronic media major at The University of Scranton with a minor in political science. He is managing editor for the school's student newspaper, The Aquinas and was part of the editorial team that made the decision last year to end print publication of the newspaper and to solely publish online.

    Holeva began his career as a copy boy at the now defunct Scrantonian-Tribune in 1983. He became managing editor of the Scranton Times-Tribune in 2004 and has overseen the three daily newsrooms of Times-Shamrock publications in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton since November of 2012. He is past president of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and serves on the board of the state Associated Press Media Editors (APME) and the Pennsylvania Society of News Editors. A native of Dickson City, he majored in journalism at Penn State University and resides in Wilkes-Barre.

    An Emmy award-winning correspondent, Bohman has specialized in reporting on public corruption, consumer rip-offs and crime at WNEP-TV since 2009. Bohman has reported on national news for CNN, CBS, ABC and the Weather Channel in Ohio, New York, Florida and other states. He graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

    Most recently, Cohen, who will serve as moderator, was publisher and digital director of the Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com. While in Akron, Cohen served on the boards of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, the Akron Roundtable, the United Way of Summit County and the Downtown Akron Partnership. He has also worked for Thompson Newspapers, GateHouse Newspapers and the Pioneer Newspaper Group.

    Area residents can submit questions for the discussion prior to the Oct. 24 event at submissions@timesshamrock.com.

    For additional information about the panel discussion, contact The University of Scranton at 570-941-7662 or email info@scranton.edu.

    On Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Kane Forum of Leahy Hall, panelists Larry Holeva, executive editor of The Times-Tribune, Citizens’ Voice and Standard-Speaker; Dave Bohman, investigative reporter at WNEP-TV; Matthew Reavy, Ph.D., associate professor of communication at Scranton; and Steven DePrimo, managing editor of The Aquinas, will discuss “Trust, Credibility and the News.” Mark Cohen, president of the Pennsylvania News Media Association, will moderate the discussion.

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