Prominent in the media spotlight last week was the unraveling Wells Fargo scandal, in which the California-based bank allegedly created 2 million fraudulent customer accounts to generate millions in illegal fee revenues. As a recent former Wells Fargo employee, this story hit close to home for me. While I, like most of their 250,000+ employees had no knowledge of, or part in these shocking sales practices, it’s a huge blow nonetheless.
The 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer findings illustrate business trust is on the rise, with both the informed and general public demonstrating greater trust in business than in media or government, respectively.
I had to ask myself, with greed and ethics like these exposed, how is it possible that the informed public trust in business is growing? Do media and government play a role in this trend? Is there an opportunity for media and government to respond to such scandals in a way that might lift their own trust ratings?
The media plays a role in drawing attention to events and issues. Often times, public outrage over featured stories fades as quickly as the news cycle, and we shift our attention to something new; perhaps an Olympic swimmer inventing a robbery, a pharmaceutical company overcharging for EpiPens, or corrupt politicians.
Is it also the responsibility of media to track these stories over time, to keep our attention focused and create accountability around resolving important societal issues?
Strategically Communicating 
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