RTÉ News Awarded Global Journalism Trust Mark

RTÉ News has stepped up its commitment to trusted journalism and has become certified with the global Journalism Trust Initiative Mark.

The Journalism Trust Initiative was developed by Reporters Without Borders and aims to promote trustworthy journalism and news sources, helping in the battle against disinformation.

RTÉ News is one of a dozen media outlets leading the way globally as JTI certified media organisations, alongside the French national public service television broadcaster France TV, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Approximately 100 media outlets worldwide are currently using the Journalism Trust Initiative at different levels of the process such as in Australia (ABC), Norway (NRK), Italy (RAI), Lithuania (LRT), Bulgaria (BNR), Spain (RTVE) and India (The Wire), along with international news agency AFP.

Jon Williams, Director of RTÉ News & Current Affairs explains: “The Journalism Trust Initiative aims to make it easier for audiences to identify trustworthy journalism by creating a common set of standards for news organisations around trust and transparency. A benchmark of quality and independence, awarded by independent auditors. In the same way that when you see the Q Mark Irish flag on a product, you know it’s been produced in Ireland, the JTI standard means you know you can trust a news organisation’s journalism.”

The Journalism Trust Initiative consists of three-stages; first the media outlet is invited to complete a self-assessment, which involves an internal check of conformity with Journalism Trust Initiative Standard. Next, the results of this self-assessment may be voluntarily disclosed to the public and published by the media outlet as a Trust Report . The final stage of the process is an external audit involving an independent evaluation by a licensed Certification Body. The media outlet is then certified and awarded a Journalism Trust Initiative Mark following the successful completion of all three stages.

The Journalism Trust Initiative is supported by the European Broadcasting Union, in collaboration with over 130 organizations and individuals representing the media industry, academia, regulatory and self-regulatory bodies, technology companies and the media development sector. It has been formally adopted by the National Standards Authority of Ireland.

About the JTI

CERTIFICATE: View The Journalism Trust Initiative Certificate for RTÉ News here.

REPORT: You can view the RTÉ News Trust Report here.

JTI: Information on the Journalism Trust Initiative is available here.

The most recent Reuters Digital News Report (Ireland) 2021 revealed RTÉ as the most trusted news source for Irish consumers, with 78% of respondents saying they trusted the service.