ABSTRACT
Balance is a norm as well as a practice of objective news; it is the professional method in which a reporter presents both sides in a news story, and its use is prescribed by a professional norm of fair treatment or neutrality. Balance is also presumed to provide an epistemic contribution towards the social goal of democratically legitimate public policy in the public interest: it supports each citizen’s ability to reason to informed conclusions based on all the relevant evidence. Trust in a source is a known factor in acceptance of information. This includes trust in the scientific enterprise. Empirical research on climate change beliefs in particular shows relationships between trust and acceptance of scientific evidence. Balance provides those who are able to accept more informational risk with distinct perspectives. They can reason to justified beliefs and use those beliefs in the light of their values to arrive at policy suggestions.
