Journalism and Mass Communication
College of Liberal Arts
Twin Cities
Award Year
2024
University Award
McKnight Presidential Fellow Award
Research Title
Growing indifference and distrust in news and how journalists can respond
No Monument Location
Benjamin Toff studies news audiences in the contemporary media environment. He is the leading expert on news avoidance, the subject of a co-authored book (2023), and previously led the most extensive, international study to date on trust in news as a fellow at the University of Oxford. His work grapples with both the political implications of the public’s growing disconnection from news and its impact on the sustainability of the industry. He is also Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center, where he is working on advancing applied projects partnering with local news outlets to test the effectiveness of strategies designed to rebuild relationships with the public.