The Credibility of Sources 2.0 in Journalism

Abstract

This chapter addresses the use and credibility of news sources 2.0 in journalism. Starting with traditionally established views about the credibility of news sources in pre-Internet journalism as depicted by Gans (2004) and other authors, this chapter discusses the new situation that the Internet and, in particular, Web 2.0, brought about. More specifically, the authors intend to: i) Characterize the way Portuguese journalists use sources 2.0; ii) Study how Portuguese journalists assess the credibility of sources 2.0; iii) Compare the results obtained among Portuguese journalists with the results of other international studies in this field. To do this, the authors analyze and discuss the main results of a survey administered to Portuguese journalists, which is also compared with results from other international studies, in order to discuss its external validity. According to the data, Portuguese journalists, like journalists in other countries, consider news sources 2.0 to be unreliable, but the Portuguese journalists surveyed still use them, so the authors examine that discrepancy and other findings in light of other research.