By Mike Neilon, Vice President, Media Relations
As the 24-hour news cycle continues to evolve in the digital age, viewers and readers are being presented with news and information at a dizzying pace. Traditional and social media content creators continue their march toward eyeballs, readers, and viewers. Podcasters and social influencers are also crowding the news space for attention. All roads in this world lead to the dollar sign, as individuals outside of legacy news outlets seek to build a large enough audience to monetize and profit from the content they create.
Who are we to believe in this crowded media landscape?
According to a recent Pew Research Center Survey:
- Overall, 56% of U.S. adults now say they have a lot of or some trust in the information they get from national news organizations – down 11 percentage points since March 2025 and 20 points since this question was first asked in 2016.
- The share of Americans who have at least some trust in information from LOCAL news organizations remains higher (70%), although it has also dropped – from 80% earlier this year and 82% in 2016.
And lucky for us in Philadelphia, our local news organizations work tirelessly to EARN your trust each day. News and information in Philadelphia are presented in a fair and accurate manner.
One way to help stop this erosion of trust is to understand the ground rules between media and sources. Journalists are trained to respect these basic rules and stick to the facts when crafting a news article.
Simple ground rules to remember when working with media:
- On the Record
- The information can be used with no caveats, quoting the source by name.
- Off the Record
- The information provided cannot be used for publication…Never assume anything is off the record even if you ask it to be
- On Background
- This information can be published but only under conditions negotiated with the source. Some sources do not want their names published but will agree to a description of their position
When prepping for your next interview, podcast or media interaction, simply put, KEEP IT ON-THE-RECORD.
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About the author
Mike Neilon is a seasoned broadcast journalist and news decision-maker with decades of experience behind-the-scenes at “6ABC Action News” who joined Bellevue Communications as Vice President of Media Relations in January 2017. In this role, Mike is responsible for guiding the firm’s messaging efforts across all clients to produce newsworthy story placements throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.