Expectations of News Media in Uganda: Advancing a Theory of Relative Institutional Trust in Journalism

Abstract

Compared with work on trust in news, surprisingly little research examines audiences’ expectations of journalism. Audiences’ expectations, after all, elucidate public opinion of news, including the criteria by which news and journalists may be trusted. Journalism expectancy research is particularly paltry beyond Euro-American contexts, where normative and primarily Western understandings of journalism cannot be assumed. Drawing on 28 in-depth interviews, this study illuminates situated expectations of journalism and journalists in Uganda. I find that although respondents desire for media professionals to expose corruption, serve the public, and provide social support to communities, they expect in practice that journalists will accept bribes and produce government-leaning content. Despite this gap between desired and anticipated practices, respondents expressed positive perceptions toward journalists, often contrasting this confidence with frustration toward political representatives. Such favorability alongside unmet normative expectations, I argue, reflects individuals’ relative institutional trust in journalism above any substantive evaluation of media performance.