This  month, Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, released  some fascinating findings of listener opinions. Acast reports that half  of all U.S. podcast listeners consider podcasters the most trustworthy  sources of information. YouTube comes in second. Mainstream journalism  seems to have lost its credibility.

My past is filled with numerous roles where I consulted or made decisions, many of which were premised on the public trust. On the global level, one of the largest PR firms, Edelman, reports an annual Trust Barometer. I find it fascinating and have used it frequently with my clients and in presentations. 

There was a time when readers and listeners trusted their local news outlets because it felt everyone shared the same values and concern about the community’s well-being. Now, however, the corporation that owns your local news station or paper is headquartered in another state, and is a subsidiary of a company that also owns some of the very corporations or politicians we expect journalists to investigate and report on. So it is that trust finds a home with the highly decentralized and mom-and-pop set up of podcasting. Please know I do my best to retain your trust with the quality content we provide, with no advertisers or sponsors looking over my shoulder. We value your time and decision to listen to Advanced TV Herstory.