Media Credibility Research Articles

Risk perception of food safety issue on social media

This study aims to investigate individuals’ risk perceptions of food safety by extending the heuristic and systematic information processing model (HSM) to the social media context. Specifically, we examine the predictors of risk perceptions of food safety, including social media attention, social media credibility, as well as systematic and heuristic processing. A convenient sample of 640 adults was collected in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effects of social media attention and social media credibility on public risk perceptions of food safety, with information processing as mediating factors. The findings indicated that social media attention and social media credibility motivate systematic processing, which in turn promote risk perception of food safety. However, the mediating effect of heuristic processing was not found. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

Measuring Message Credibility

Despite calls to conceptualize credibility as three separate concepts—source credibility, message credibility, and media credibility—there exists no scale that exclusively measures message credibility. To address this gap, the current study constructs and validates a new scale. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis suggest that message credibility, specifically in the context of news, can be measured by asking participants to rate how well three adjectives describe content: accurate, authentic, and believable. Validity and reliability tests are reported, and contributions to credibility research are discussed.

The Use of Social Media Among Qatari Youth During Crises- A Survey

In this paper, secondary crisis communication have been analyzed with respect to the effects of traditional media vs new media tools during the times of crises. The results confirms the strong relationship between the variables of SMCC model- Social Mediated Crisis Communication model. As the model highlighted the importance of word of mouth during crisis time, the results testing the cognitive dimension of acquiring news and updates indicated that the major source of information about the true crisis that happened before conducting the research was “friends and family” and social media –via what’s app and BBM. When testing the affective dimension, comparing traditional media to social media in terms of trustworthiness, the traditional media won over social media. Word of mouth also plays an important role in evaluating news as trustworthy. The direct and indirect channels of communication that transfer information about crisis appeared in testing the behavioral component of the information processing, where information is processed either directly by the receiver through social media or traditional media, or indirectly via inactive users who receive information reported by followers via twitter or Facebook or what’s app. The above mentioned results point to the need to extend crisis communication theories and shed more light on the mediated role of social networking sites in crisis communication as a shift from one to many communication mode to many to many communication mode. There are many intervening variables in the process of new media crisis communication that need to be examined and experimented such as interpretations use experiences (Schultz et al.,2011) in addition to users’ evaluation of medium credibility and the overall communication environment. Integration of social media into crisis and risk communication is crucial for crisis management, but it needs to be well planned. Using social media has the advantage of gaining fast information that would reduce rumors, but it has to be well planned to gain trust and credibility Having a comparison of a non-crisis information seeking situation builds the credibility of the results in times information seeking during crisis situations. The findings of this study have practical implications when designing communication strategies for government and organizations during emerging crisis situations. Using social media would result in a more positive evaluation of the situation, and achieving higher levels of awareness when information dissemination is needed. Communication of consistent messages via social networking sites in line with traditional media forms could assist in limiting rumors and achieve news credibility.

Anti-social media: executive Twitter “engagement” and attitudes about media credibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to take the results of two studies to hypothesize about practice and recommend research/debate on business leaders’ use and perceptions of social media. Data were considered under the umbrella of current senior management practice, with the purpose to make suggestions for better practice, but primarily to theorize about the probable evolution of social media value and credibility for executives. Design/methodology/approach – The first study presents results from a qualitative content analysis of Fortune and Inc. 500 CEOs’ use of Twitter in terms of: activity and engagement; tweet subject matter; frequency of opinions expressed; and level of formality. The second considers the credibility of social media against traditional media and personal information sources within one quantitative survey. Findings – Senior executives using social media (Twitter) tend to engage in one-sided conversations in a two-way medium. Further, most CEOs appear to be using more formal language than general Twitter users. These factors, combined with the low credibility and value of social media by senior managers, may indicate the best future hope for social media credibility with executives will be neutral. Practical implications – In examining a combination of current literature and the data from these separate studies, the authors posit a number of underlying challenges in realizing the potential of the evolving social media environment that may deserve specific research. Originality/value – Discussion touches on implications for future adoption of social media tools by business leaders, as well as one-way vs two-way communication tendencies. This paper proposes a starting-point for theory development regarding this significant emerging area of communication.

Self-regulation of journalism in Spain

Self-regulation of journalism resides in voluntary measures taken by the professional community of journalists to guarantee the observation of certain rules and principles in the process of providing information to public, maintain independence and credibility of media. The institution of self-regulation of Spanish journalism emerged later than in other Western countries due to the history of interaction between the State and media: for a long time Spanish media were under State control and freedom of expression was constantly defied. That is why first attempts to establish bodies for self-regulation of journalism in the post-Franco Spain evoked fears of a return to censorship. However, the time lag concerning media self- regulation allowed Spain to use other countries’ experience. Nowadays, the degree of self-regulation of journalism in Spain is similar to that of the Western countries. The institution of self-regulation operates successfully and facilitates Spanish media authority.

Reasons to believe: Influence of credibility on motivations for using social networks

One question that has troubled credibility researchers is why do people rely on media that they do not deem credible? This question has also arisen with the coming of social media, which is increasingly relied on for news and information despite its low credibility ratings. This study compares perceptions of credibility of political information found on Facebook, blogs, and Twitter to credibility of information found on traditional media and it investigates if credibility ratings influence motives for using social media for political information. This study found that all traditional media except Fox News were rated more credible than social media sites, which suggests that sources that strive to present news that is fair and unbiased are judged more credible. But traditional news sources are only rated as moderately credible, which indicates that they are not measuring up to the standards of journalistic integrity. Credibility of social media consistently influenced motivations for using them, suggesting that gratifications obtained from these sources may be strong enough that users are willing to trade credibility for need satisfaction.

“Truthiness” and Second-Level Agenda Setting

This study examined the impact of satire news programs on perceptions of media credibility. Using second-level agenda setting as a theoretical framework, the results of this mixed-methods study show that negative portrayals of television news on these satire news shows make salient certain negative attributes that match viewers’ perceptions of credibility. A survey ( N = 650) found that Daily Show/ Colbert Report viewers had less positive views about the credibility of television news programs, while content analysis ( N = 401) of 4 weeks of episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report reflected the results of the survey, showing that television news programs, particularly those on cable, were more frequently portrayed negatively and made the target of jokes. The analysis shows television news is a frequent target of these satire shows’ criticisms and these shows’ negative attributes are made salient, which is reflected in the survey respondents’ low credibility scores for this medium.

Media Assessment of Herbalife’s Crisis Response: An Approach to Explain Vietnam’s Media Transparency Level

Vietnam’s media credibility is not highly appreciated both nationally and internationally. Domestically, public trust in the media is deteriorating. Internationally, Vietnam ranked among the bottom countries worldwide on media transparency level. There is thus a strong need to better assess the current media transparency in Vietnam and regain reputation for the Vietnam media. Guided by the research question: What is the difference in transparency between leading and following media in Vietnam during Herbalife’s crisis?, the paper argues that Vietnamese media uphold the transparent practice, but different publications have different standards of transparency. This study found that during the Herbalife Vietnam’s (HVN’s) crisis, coverage from following media are less objective than those from leading media. It can also be inferred from the study that the media transparency level in following media is lower than that in leading media. The result indicates that Vietnam’s leading media are maintaining their standards of media practice and transparency, distinguishing themselves from the following cluster. As from 2003 to the present, no studies were done on media transparency in Vietnam. An updated study is needed to better assess the current transparency level.

Credibility of different sources and channels of agriculture information as perceived by the ber growers

Credibility of information sources and channels affect the adoption of improved agricultural practices by farmers. Credibility refers to perceived trustworthiness and expertise accorded to a source or channel by its audience at any given time. Therefore, sources and channels of agriculture information play major role in diffusion of agriculture innovations. This study was conducted in Chomu tehsil of Jaipur district of Rajasthan, from Chomu tehsil ten villages were selected on the basis of highest area and production of ber. A sample of 100 ber growers was selected by simple random sampling technique for the study purpose in such a manner that the number of ber growers selected was proportional to the size of the selected village. It was found that majority of the ber growers (76.00 %) belonged to medium credibility level followed by 13.00 per cent having low credibility and only 11.00 per cent were having high credibility to different sources and channels of agriculture information. About 85.11 per cent peripheral ber growers had high credibility to different sources and channels, whereas 67.93 per cent distant ber growers had high credibility to different sources and channels of information. It was further found that the 'progressive farmers' (MPS 79.33) was identified as the most credible personal localite source by the ber growers. The peripheral ber growers accorded their highest credibility to 'friends' (MPS 77.30), whereas 'progressive farmers' (MPS 84.90) was perceived as the most credible personal localite source of agriculture information by the distant ber growers. The 'agriculture supervisor' (MPS 84.33) was the most credible personal cosmopolite sources by the ber growers. The peripheral ber growers also accorded their highest credibility to 'agriculture supervisor' (MPS 95.03), whereas the 'KVK officials' (MPS 76.73) were perceived as the most credible personal cosmopolite source of agriculture information by the distant ber growers. The 'group meeting' was the most credible personal cosmopolite channel among the peripheral ber growers (MPS 81.56) and distant ber growers (MPS 86.79) in the study area. The 'radio' (MPS 85.33) was perceived as the most credible impersonal cosmopolite channels by the ber growers. The peripheral ber growers accorded their highest credibility to 'newspaper' (MPS 85.11), whereas 'radio' (MPS 87.42) was perceived as the most credible impersonal cosmopolite channel of agriculture information by the distant ber growers. The 'impersonal cosmopolite channels' (MPS 71.70) and 'personal localite sources' (MPS 67.72) were the most credible sources and channels. The 'impersonal cosmopolite channels' were the most credible channels-9 among the peripheral ber growers (MPS 71.13) and distant ber growers (MPS 72.20) in the study area.

Understanding communication types on travel information sharing in social media: A transactive memory systems perspective

Transactive memory systems (TMS) is now an important factor in information sharing. This study adopted TMS to understand the intentions of tourists who share travel information in social media. Tourist’s information is shared either by the formal or informal types of communication. To understand their intentions in using social media, this paper concerns the three measurements employed by TMS; that is, specialization, credibility, and coordination; and the potential tourists’ perception of communication types and TMS are measured in this research model. This research employed empirical analysis using structural equation modeling upon 309 Korean users who shared travel information on social media to attain three findings. First, that the users’ perception of formal communication has a positive influence on the specialization, credibility, and coordination of social media. Second, that the perception of informal communication has a positive effect on the credibility and coordination of social media. Third, that three sub-dimensions of TMS affect intentions to share travel information, which provides us with significant theoretical and practical implications.

Media literacy of adults in the function of lifelong learning: the bad sides of the weather forecast

In our era, the epoch of the mass media, the simplest and the most complex knowledge and experience is being increasingly presented or jointly shaped by young journalists, junior editors or relatively young media owners. The state of youth generally corresponds with more insufficiently articulated bright and classic, literary and timeless knowledge. Furthermore, the state of youth, which dominates the mass media scene in our environment, does not have enough field of experience as important guideline of a good professionalism. In theory, good information is a result of three journalist’s experience: the experience of a specific message (event), the earlier experience and pervious level of education. Now, how to compensate the leak of one of those elements on everyday basis? I am going to analyse a very simple, generally known and very important example in the „world of life” – the matter of „weather forecast” or „weather information”. It is becoming important yet even more sensational. For media credibility, even regarding this information, the classic and background knowledge is exceedingly important in addition to modern views „through telescopes-satellites”.

Factors Influencing Information credibility on Social Media Platforms: Evidence from Facebook Pages

Abstract Information on social media platforms suffers from a relative lack of professional gatekeepers to monitor content. How to evaluate the information credibility on social media platform has become an important issue for today information consumers. Despite its importance, little research has empirically examined what factors influence the information credibility on social media platforms, which limits our understanding of the determinants of online information assessment. To fill this gap, this study examines the factors that influence individuals’ perceived information credibility on social media platforms. Drawing on the persuasion theory—the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), we identify that five factors from two dimensions of credibility (medium and message credibility) are key ingredients in the online information assessment, and develop a research model that predicts individuals’ perceived information credibility on social media platforms. We test and validate the proposed model with empirical data from 135 users of the Facebook page. The results show that interactivity, medium dependency from the medium credibility dimension and argument strength from the message credibility dimension are main determinants of the information credibility. However, we did not observe any moderating effect of personal expertise between two credibility dimensions and information credibility, which suggested from ELM.

‘Carbon colonialism’: Pacific environmental risk, media credibility and a deliberative perspective

The effects of climate change are already occurring in all continents and across the oceans, and the situation has deteriorated since the last account in 2007, warned the United Nations scientific agency charged with monitoring and assessing the risks earlier this year. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC, 2014), the world is ill-prepared to manage warming and an increase in magnitude is likely to lead to ‘severe and pervasive impacts that may be surprising or irreversible’. Seriously at risk are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including several in the Pacific, such as Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. The UN has declared 2014 as the International Year of SIDS and a summit was hosted in Samoa during September. Living in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to the impact of climate change and the challenges of aid effectiveness and adaptation funding, journalists are at a critical crossroads. This article examines environmental risk, media creativity and a contradiction between normative and traditional Western journalism values and the Pacific profession’s own challenges of ‘adaptation’ in telling the story of global warming with a deliberative perspective.Caption: Figure 2: Climate Change Warriors from Fiji: ‘We are not drowning. We are fighting.’ world.350.org/pacificwarriors/

Advertising in Top National English Dailies: Which Newspaper is Winning The Brands?

Newspapers are everywhere so the advertisements. Though challenged by the Internet, the print continues to be a credible media for the advertisers. The present media environment suggests that marketers and audiences have more choices and options than in the past. While the print industry suffers the onslaught of online journalism, the outlook for Indian print media remains favourable and vibrant. Newspapers still enjoy the trust and patronage of advertising brands. The leading national dailies are inundated with advertisements on every page and more recently even the very first page that is confined for breaking news and hard stories also carries the advertisements.

소셜미디어 이용동기와 신뢰성이 사회자본에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of social media use motive and credibility on social capital. In particular, it explored the motivations for the use of most influential SNS in Korea, Facebook. The result of analysis showed that the use motive, information exchange and making relationship, influenced significantly on social capital. Second, the credibility of social media influenced significantly on social capital(bonding social capital and bridging capital). ▸

ARTHUR HALLAM’S SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPH AND TENNYSON’S ELEGIAC TRACE

Blanche Warre Cornish's 1921–22tripartite memoir, “Memories of Tennyson,” begins in 1869 when she meets the poet by way of her parents’ friendship with Tennyson's neighbor, the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (145) (Figure 1). The photograph that Cornish recalls as “psychophotography” is one instance of a trend in Victorian England of spirit photography that was first practiced around 1872 after it was imported from America, where William Mumler had developed it (Tucker 68; Doyle 2: 128). Reactions to these spirit photographs took various forms: while some viewers regarded them as a credible medium for communication with the dead, their detractors saw them as deliberate acts of deception. Others employed photography's spectral qualities for entertainment, such as the London Stereoscopic Company that had marketed photographs of angels, fairies, and ghosts for their customers’ amusement in the 1860s (Chéroux 45–53). By the time the “shadowy figure of a man” appears beside Arthur Hallam's erstwhile fiancé, Mrs. Jesse, Tennyson's sister, the practice had been subject to public intrigue and scandal as a part of broader and contentious Victorian debates about the status of photography as art or document. The already surreal qualities of Cornish's anecdote are amplified by Tennyson's question, “Is that Arthur?,” which entertains the possibility of Hallam being present in a visible, spectral form while unrecognized by his beloved friend.

Predicting Media Credibility in China: The Influence of Weibo Use

A telephone survey was conducted in a metropolitan city in 2012 to examine people’s credibility ratings of different media outlets, in particular, Weibo – one of the most popular social media platforms in China. Our findings suggest: First, people place more trust in traditional news media than in online sources by a significant margin. Second, demographic influences on media trust seem to be minimal. Only age and gender were related to some credibility measures. Third, Weibo use was not related to one’s credibility perception toward traditional media but interestingly, Weibo use showed different impacts on people’s evaluation of Weibo’s credibility. Commenting frequency was negatively related to one’s trust in Weibo, while retweeting frequency was positively related to one’s trust in Weibo.

A Brief Introduction of the Special Section : Social Media and Social Participation

One of the most significant phenomena characterized the present era is the surge of social media, as well as their interwoven association with the ongoing social changes across the globe. It was based on such observation and belief that when I was commissioned by the Journal Editorial Board to organize a special session, social media and social participation popped out as a natural choice for the possible theme of the session. The special session is composed of three research articles. Wenny Cao, Angus Cheong and Zizi Li present their investigation of social media's role in a social movement took place in Macao early this year, i.e., the protest against the Retirement Package Bill. Combining large-scale data mining approach with manual coding of traditional content analysis, they managed to map out how Facebook had functioned as one of the principal platforms in mobilizing and organizing this impressive collective action which eventually led to the withdrawal of the bill. The second paper is co-authored by Professor Fei Shen and Professor Hongzhong Zhang. Considering the rise of social media in the general landscape of information and communication system, they raise a concern about the influence of widespread use of social media on the perceived media credibility. The findings of their study are very interesting: Weibo use was not related to one’s credibility perception toward traditional media, while did show different impacts on people’s evaluation of Weibo’s credibility per se. The third study reported in this session is from Professor Leah Xiufang Li who examined how social media functioned in disaster management with a comparative perspective across these years. According to her study, amid natural disastrous situations, social media's role in information dissemination and resource mobilization has dramatically heightened over the years.

Credibility of social online media: in the eyes of Finnish professional journalists

This article reviews the changed structure of news presentation in the social media, addressing concerns about credibility and ethics. It highlights the important factors of accuracy and trustworthiness to measure newsworthiness and credibility of the news of social media. Possible ideas for editing social media contents have been suggested as absence of a gatekeeping process has raised question about the credibility of the social media. The study analyses contents of theme interviews conducted with selected journalism professionals from four newspapers: Lapin Kansa, Kaleva, Keskipohjanmaa and Österbottens Tidning in Finland. The results show that the social media started to serve the purpose of people getting news and will emerge as full-fledged news media in future, if the authenticity, credibility and transparency of information could be ensured upholding journalistic ethics.

Comparison & Magnitude Credibility: Whom to Trust When Reports are Conflicting?

This study used the concepts of comparison credibility and magnitude credibility to assess perceived news media credibility in China. It also investigated which sources people trusted more when they encountered conflicting reports regarding different kinds of stories including entertainment news, disaster news and political news. A random sample from three major metropolises (n = 1,844) were telephone interviewed. Results indicated that television was perceived as the most trustworthy. Regardless of the type of stories, people trusted national Chinese media over other media outlets. Implications on credibility research are discussed.