This book explores how trust, media, and democracy are deeply connected in times of digital change and political uncertainty. It shows how trust in democratic institutions and government is built, challenged, and contested through old and new media. The early chapters introduce key ideas about social and political trust and explain why trust and distrust both matter for democracy. It then examines the role of news media and journalism as mediators of trust, before turning to major contemporary challenges such as digitalisation, political polarisation, populism, and the spread of misinformation. Drawing on comparative research from across Europe, including the Covid-19 pandemic, later chapters analyse how citizens judge governments, experts, and media institutions. The book concludes by proposing a model of “enlightened trust” that highlights the importance of critical publics, media responsibility, and democratic debate. It will be of interest to readers searching for insights on trust, media, democracy, and the future of journalism and the public sphere.

Hans-Jörg Trenz is Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy. His main fields of interest are media and public sphere transformations, digital transformations of society, political communication and democracy, as well as a cultural and political sociology of European integration with a focus on the emergence of a European media and the public sphere, European civil society, European civilisation and identity, migration and ethnic minorities. His most recent publications include “Democracy and the Public Sphere: From Dystopia back to Utopia”, “Narrating European Society”, and “Toward a Sociology of European Integration”.