Time for Trust

Communication is a two-way street. Or at least, it’s meant to be. So why don’t organisations ever seem to really listen to us?    Jim Macnamara, the Distinguished Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, is a pioneer in the field of organisation listening, and he argues it’s the critical missing piece for nearly every institution trying to build and maint...

Why are companies racing to build dancing robots when human dancers are fighting harder than ever to earn a living? Why does it feel like technology is becoming rapidly more powerful, but so few people seem to actually gain anything from it?    Institutions large and small are central to all democracies, and they’re anything but simple. A great institution can pr...

As governments around the world move to restrict young people’s access to social media, a fundamental question emerges: do bans actually protect children or create new risks?     Growing concern about youth mental health and the power of tech companies has driven policies such as Australia’s under-16 ban, which is now being closely watche...

“Podcasting is the medium of the moment.”     But should we trust the creators and their content?    With more than 600 million global listeners, podcasting is now central to journalism, commentary, and public debate. Many audiences see podcasts as more authentic and more intimate than radio, television, or social media — b...

Is cinema a vehicle of truth or does it promote false beliefs?  Associate Professor of Film Studies  Bruce Isaacs  doesn’t believe in historical truth in the film image.   “I don't think cinema looks for that. What it seeks to show is a kind of aesthetic truth. Films straddle this very interesting tension between being...

Dr T.J. Thomson is an associate professor and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow at RMIT, where he co-leads The News, Technology, and Society Network. His research is united by its focus on visual communication. He’s the author of a number of books and edited colllections, including  Everyday Visual News: Audience Expectations, Engagements, and Meanings  (Routledge, 2026),&nbs...

Karin Wahl-Jorgenson is Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University where she has also been University Dean of Research Environment and Culture. She is the incoming President-Elect of the International Communication Association. Her research has been focused on the relationship between citizenship, media and emotion - and how it is affected by rapid...

Professor Andrea Carson joins Terry for a wide-ranging discussion about trust in politics and the media which reports on it, from mis- and dis-information to the fate of fact-checking units and how our front pages impact Australian elections, along with the impact of AI and social media on our rapidly changing mediascape.  She is Associate Dean, Research, Industry and Engagement with the Scho...

In recent years, an increasing amount of cultural production has transitioned to platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. But can we trust these platforms to do the right thing by their creators and users – and what happens when these companies come into conflict with national governments, as has happened in Australia, Canada and elsewhere?   David B. Nieborg is a Professor of...

On Wednesday 20 August 2025, Prof Terry Flew delivered a guest lecture in Charles Sturt University's 'Thoughts On The Beyond' series, celebrating 50 years of communications scholarship at the university. Entitled 'AI and Communication: Trust, Ethics, Justice and Policy', the talk outlines some of context for, and themes of, the work Terry is doing as part of his ARC Laureate project researching me...

Alexandre Lefebvre , Professor of Politics and Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney,   argues that liberalism isn't just a political ideology having to do with individual rights, parliaments, and courts. He says its core values permeate throughout much of our society, and offer a personal belief system that’s fundamental to many of us, whether reli...

Nick Couldry is Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory Emeritus and Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science. As a sociologist of media and culture, he approaches media and communications from the perspective of the symbolic power that has been historically concentrated in media institution...

In recent years, many major companies, both in Australia and around the world, have conspicuously failed to protect their customers’ data, leading to personal details being shared on the dark web. Global platform companies have facilitated the spread of disinformation and misinformation, while their algorithms have contributed to the fragmentation and&n...

The 25th anniversary edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer revealed that Australia has slipped into distrust territory with a profound global shift to acceptance of aggressive action and deepening fears giving rise to a widespread sense of grievance. We were delighted to co-host the launch of the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer on 18 March. In collaboration with Edelman Australia and the  Centr...

As we’ve discussed extensively on the podcast, trust in public institutions is declining. But how do we know this, and how do we measure how much things have changed? The international communications firm Edelman has been tracking this issue for 25 years, and its Edelman Trust Barometer has become one of the most authoritative global sources on trust in society. This year, their stu...

As AI continues to make its way into more aspect of life, some interesting trends about how the public feels about these new, increasingly pervasive services have been observed. The developers of AI promise that their systems will produce reliable, comprehensive, and bias-free results. But national surveys consistently show that the public is sceptical towards AI. And yet experimental st...

We have a lot of threats to trust around the world. These include misinformation, political polarisation, the spread of hate online, and declining trust in political and social institutions. We also know that much of this has happened as more and more people worldwide have developed social media profiles and engaged with other online. But what, if anything, is the connection between the two? Shoul...

One of the major challenges of our time is political polarisation and the dangers it presents to social cohesion. Recent editions of the Edelman Trust Barometer have identified a weakening of Australia’s social fabric, a decline of trust in key institutions, and a lack of unity behind a shared purpose. Professor James Arvanitakis has addressed these questions at several points across his career, e...

Only 50% of Australians trust our governments, according to the Edelman Trust barometer from March this year. And even fewer of us trust the media – just 40%. Furthermore, 59% of Australian worry that government, business leaders, journalists & reporters are deliberately trying to mislead people. And in a time of rapid change, none of these four ins...

For some years now, local newspapers have been closing down in the United States. The problem’s especially pronounced in regional areas, where ‘news deserts’ have emerged as the last local journalists shut up shop.  More recently, hundreds of new websites that claim to contain local news have arrived to try to fill this void. On exam...

In 2024, forty countries are holding elections, representing 41% of the world’s population. In some respects, it’s a banner year for democracy – but also, a year in which many commentators and political scientists have charted the rise of right-wing populist movements – some of which seek to undermine public trust in the fairness of elections, in the in...

What really happens when we Google something? When we post to Facebook or Instagram, how much are we sharing alongside that snap of our family holiday, or our latte art? More broadly, how are these companies’ attempt to privatise our public square impacting democracy – and even the nature of information itself? Today’s guest, Siva Vaidhyanathan, ha...

Lorena Allam is descended from the Gamilaraay and Yawalaraay nations of north-west NSW. She has been the Guardian's Indigenous affairs editor since 2018, following a long career as an ABC journalist. She also worked with the Australian Human Rights Commission on its landmark report about the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children,  Bringing Them Home , and with the...

Social cohesion is spiralling, with a survey last year finding that Australians’ sense of belonging, national pride and trust were reaching all-time lows. Citizens are turning off the news in record numbers, undermining the media’s role in safeguarding democracy. And dozens of regional newspapers have been closing across Australia, or going online in a&...

Our first guest, journalist, author, pollster, commentator, and activist Peter Lewis, has written extensively about the lessons from Australia’s Voice referendum for understanding how trust relates to participation in public life, and distrust to disengagement.    Peter brings a long and varied career of engagement with issues relating to trust. In this epis...