MediaFest25, the nation’s largest news-media gathering for pros and college students, kicked off its four-day run in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, October 15. The conference is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Media Association.

Michael Karlik, a member of the SPJ Colorado Pro chapter’s board of directors, is on hand for MediaFest. Here is his dispatch from opening day.

(Photos at top: Left, Lynn Walsh and Mollie Muchna of Trusting News. Right, Caroline Hendrie, SPJ’s executive director. Photos by Michael Karlik | SPJ Colorado Pro.)

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I attended a discussion titled “Trust or Bust: How to foster loyalty with your audience and your community.” Lynn Walsh and Mollie Muchna of Trusting News – a research and training project dedicated to empowering journalists to demonstrate credibility and earn trust – spoke about how to be transparent when reporting the news.

Most people “stumble upon” news and don’t go searching for it, so it’s important to communicate what your outlet values, the scope of your coverage, what makes you different, and what impact you have, they said.

Walsh and Muchna highlighted Colorado Public Radio’s disclosure about its decision-making process for election coverage and its explanation for why it released a multi-part series about tobacco in Colorado.

They said it’s important to have editorial discussions if a reporter has strong feelings or a personal background with a particular issue. It may mean the person is actually in the best position to cover a topic (subject to disclosures), or that the story is better left to someone else, they said.

Although news coverage can contribute to political polarization, careful attention to word choice and sourcing can avoid unnecessarily inflammatory coverage. Trusting News has a checklist (along with lots of other resources) on its website that newsrooms can reference.

Walsh and Muchna also urged reporters to reflect on which communities might feel included or excluded from an outlet’s coverage.

The public might not understand why a local paper is relying on wire reports, they said, or may think that an outlet hasn’t covered a particular angle on an issue – an angle that might’ve actually been published days or weeks ago. In those instances, it’s good to keep readers informed not only about the news itself, but how newsrooms are doing their day-to-day work, they added.

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Also on opening day, Caroline Hendrie, SPJ’s executive director, provided an organizational update to members. She said that six months ago, the organization rolled out a new, custom-built membership platform. Since then, membership has risen 17%, she said. It stands at 3,800, which is 500 more than six months ago.

The society remains in a favorable financial condition as of this quarter, with revenue better than expected, Hendrie added. She said that media professionals are facing a landscape of “unprecedented hostility” toward professional journalism. She acknowledged the society needs to do a better job of supporting the chapter-regional-national structure of SPJ.

WATCH: SPJ’s opening membership meeting at MediaFest25.

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MORE: Join SPJ and become an SPJ Colorado Pro chapter member for free.