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A majority of the public believes the media can’t be trusted.

Which global news sites are most transparent about their operations? Not necessarily the ones you would think….

Openness & Accountability: A Study of Transparency in Global Media Outlets

Main Results

Study Conclusions

Understanding Results

Why Transparency?

Study Methodology

Authors

The study used five categories to evaluate the news outlets:

Corrections: Willingness to openly correct mistakes.

Ownership: Openness about corporate ownership.

Staff Policies: Openness about conflicts of interest.

Reporting Policies: Openness about editorial guidelines.

Interactivity: Openness to reader comments and criticism.

	Excellent
	Very Good
	Average
	Poor
	Not Acceptable

	Overall Score	Corrections	Ownership	Staff Policies	Reporting Policies	Interactivity
12. The Economist	1.2

Ranking: Poor (tied with ABC News, Fox News and the Daily Telegraph).
Details of Findings:
	There is no corrections page.
	The owner information can be found easily. It is listed somewhere on the home page (top or bottom), within 1-2 clicks. Information about the owner is also linked to easily, within 1-2 clicks.
	No code of ethics or information on conflicts of interest.
	There is vague wording of News Values such as objectivity, accuracy, and impartiality. It does not have a specific page but web search leads to a PDF file or third-party web site (ASNE, RTNDA) but not a direct link titled “News Values."
	The outlet does not have an ombudsman. A link is provided to send letters to the editor, and a link is provided to view letters to the editor. The outlet has links to specific programs or news bureaus, but not individual reporters. Blogs by reporters are unavailable. There are no live chats. There is no ability to comment on stories.
(Sarah Merkey and Kristi Ellingsworth)

About The Economist

Circulation/Audience

1,197,712 per week

Online Access

Some articles are free, but most require a subscription and log in to view.

Parent Company

European Voice http://www.europeanvoice.com/
Roll Call http://www.rollcall.com/
Gallery Watch http://www.gallerywatch.com/
CFO http://www.cfo.com/

Other Relevant Ownership and Interests

-90 Newspapers http://www.gannett.com/web/gan013.htm
-23 television stations http://www.gannett.com/about/company_profile.htm

Parent Company Revenue

£31 million

A center of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and the School of Public Policy. Copyright © 2006 International Center for Media and the Public Agenda. 1117 Journalism Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742