Information has always been subjective to modifications when passed onto someone else, from word of mouth to newspapers and magazines, we have come far as technology evolved over the ages. Despite the newer means of acquiring information, the human input being still necessary in spreading news becomes a cause for exaggerations and modifications to be made. So, to the question should journalist be trusted, I would say we should trust our perception of truth and not journalist who are humans like us.
Journalism, a fairly recent profession, if we consider how old human civilization is. Fueled by the desire of humans to know about happenings in their surroundings, from local to a global scale, in recent years more and more journalists are born. Some motivated by sentiments like justice, idealizing themselves as seekers of truth while some motivated by just the greed to profit off humanity’s thirst for knowledge. But the journalist being human like all of when delivering news end up being driven by emotions and tend to alter the truth, be it unknowingly or deliberately. This alteration can end up becoming a cause of fake news to be spread to the masses and cause them losing their trust in journalists completely.
For me, a good journalist is a person who is neutral, not controlled by his emotions and always say loyal to the news. Information has always comprised of beliefs and facts, and beliefs can change over time but facts do not. So, I believe a true journalist, states the fact not his own belief or opinions. Be it a story so heart-wrenching that any human can be swayed by it, still a journalist cannot be the judge rather they need to be conveyer of facts related to the story and not the author of a drama.
In conclusion, I would say it is not whether we can trust journalists as they would always be human and be subjective to emotions. It is we who need to believe in our perception of truth and try to differentiate between facts and beliefs when presented with a piece of news.