“Sadly, too many people have lost trust in the media.”“I think we have built… trust over 60 years…. There is currency there.”These are two very different quotes from media executives in the last four months addressing their respective newsrooms. While one focuses on rebuilding trust, the other tries to reassure staff that they have a solid foundation of trust with their audience.The first quote from Chris Licht, in a memo to staff shortly after he took over as the new president of CNN in May. Licht went on to say he was committed to CNN “being an organization that exemplifies the best characteristics of journalism” and that under his guidance, the network would try and regain that trust from viewers. Licht wants CNN to move away from opinion broadcasting and return to being a more centrist reporting outlet.Three months later on Aug. 18, Michael Melling, vice-president of news for Bell Media, told staff at a CTV townhall following the ouster of chief news anchor Lisa LaFlamme that he believed the trust CTV news had built over the years with its audience was enough to weather LaFlamme's departure. (Earlier in the week LaFlamme had posted a video message on Twitter announcing her dismissal from CTV saying she was “blindsided” by Bell Media's decision to part ways. After intense scrutiny, Bell has launched an independent review of the handling of LaFlamme's departure).Despite Melling's optimism, in recent years, particularly since the pandemic began in March 2020, studies have repeatedly shown that Licht is right: trust in the news media is declining.Melling's comments follow a Reuters Institute 2022 Digital News Report in June that showed a new low in Canadians' trust in the news media, referenced in this op-ed about misinformation.For years CTV news has prided itself on being the most trusted English outlet in Canada. It, along with over 100 global news outlets including the BBC, Globe and Mail, CBC, and the Economist, is a signatory to the global Trust Project.Founded in 2014, the mandate of the Trust Project is to “strengthen public confidence in the news through accountability and transparency.” Its website states, “Trust matters. In a confusing world flooded with misinformation, principled journalism must step forward and earn the public trust.”In addition to the challenge of weathering a rise in misinformation, many media outlets face increasing attacks from politicians encouraging their supporters not to trust traditional/mainstream news outlets.On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis released a video from “Freedom Headquarters” called TopGov, dressed as a fighter pilot to mimic the movie Top Gun, about a lesson in “dog fighting, taking on the corporate media,” His final point? “Don't accept their narrative.”Last month, Conservative party leadership front runner Pierre Poilievre tweeted, “No wonder trust in the media is at an all-time low,” to criticize a journalist for a report about Poilievre and vaccine mandates. Poilievre went on to say, “We can only assume that Global News is content to be a Liberal mouthpiece.”Leaders in the news business who believe the foundation of trust is solid may have already failed their audience. What is needed urgently is a recognition of the true decline of trust in the news media and the impact this is having on democracy itself.Janet E Silver worked in journalism for over 30 years and is now the senior director, advocacy and communications at Syntax Strategic.