What can you do to challenge the news?
There is an urgent need for more research about the news media. Studies about standards of news coverage and its impact (including on public perceptions) are few and far between - especially about news in the UK. Hardly any news organisations currently sponsor such research, and neither do non-media organisations or the government (the exception being the BBC, although much of that research is kept private).
Without such research it is very difficult to identify problems in news coverage or to develop solutions to those problems. For example, many people have suggested independent media is increasingly influenced by public relations, but there is very little evidence to prove this.
There are some good academic research institutes, at Oxford University (the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism), at Cardiff University (Cardiff School of Journalism), at the LSE (Department of Media), at Westminster University, and at Leeds.
But these are, by there nature, mostly lengthy studies whose influence is necessarily long term.
There is no regular polling done of attitudes to news comparable to the Pew Centre in the US, or timely think-tank type studies designed to have an immediate impact on the way news is produced, delivered and consumed.
If you want to sponsor such a study, or discuss how such studies could be developed, contact the Media Standards Trust at martin.moore@mediastandardstrust.org.