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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
3. NPR	3.2

Ranking: Excellent (tied with BBC News, CBS and Christian Science Monitor).
Details of Findings:
	There is a corrections page and the corrections link is labeled clearly on the homepage and one click away. The corrections page has a link to the original story with the correction. The corrections page also provides a link to contact the editor.
	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.
	There are both a code of ethics and information on conflicts of interest. Both are clearly defined.
	News Values are explicitly detailed. News Values are found on the “Ombudsman” page and they are numbered in “The Mission of NPR.” Generally, outlets coded a “3” display easily accessible information that can be found intuitively.
	The outlet has an ombudsman and there is a link to the ombudsman (or “public editor”) on the Web site. There is no link for letters to the editor. The outlet had links to email specific programs or news bureaus, but not individual reporters. No blogs or live chats were available on the Web site.
(Carrie Peirce and Lauren Scott)

About NPR

Circulation/Audience

12 million

Online Access

No log in needed.

Parent Company

National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/

Other Relevant Ownership and Interests

Partnership with PRI, BBC World and other non-profit outlets.

Parent Company Revenue

Non-profit

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