Journalists and news organizations have seen record-low credibility ratings in the last few years. Past research helps describe several factors that have played a role in this loss of credibility. The argument is presented that news organizations have lost credibility largely because of two factors (1) a media regime change and (2) a loss of gatekeeping power that has resulted from the media regime change. The thesis investigates how journalists are adapting to the media regime change and how they can continue to adapt to ongoing changes resulting from the media regime change. Data was gathered through a qualitative investigation that involved interviewing newspaper and news website journalists in San Diego. The research suggests that the credibility-establishing practices journalists use are evolving in response to the media regime change. An important finding in the research was journalists’ use of humanization as a trust building and credibility-establishing tool. Keywords: media regime change, gatekeeping, fake news, credibility, humanization, education by contact, engagement, community building
