Priming and Fake News: The Effects of Elite Discourse on Evaluations of News Media

Fake news has become a prominent topic of public discussion, particularly among elites. Recent research has explored the prevalence of fake news during the 2016 election cycle and possible effects on electoral outcomes. This scholarship has not yet considered how elite discourse surrounding fake news may influence individual perceptions of real news. Through an experiment, this study explores the effects of elite discourse about fake news on the public’s evaluation of news media. Results show that exposure to elite discourse about fake news leads to lower levels of trust in media and less accurate identification of real news. Therefore, frequent discussion of fake news may affect whether individuals trust news media and the standards with which they evaluate it. This discourse may also prompt the dissemination of false information, particularly when fake news is discussed by elites without context and caution.     

Competition in Danish Television News

We studied competitive behavior within Danish network television news to determine differences between broadcasts of the government-funded, public network and the commercially funded, private network. Denmark offers a unique opportunity to study the effect of competition and commercialism on national television news broadcasts because the country had a state monopoly television network until 1988, when a commercial network was introduced. Results reveal there is differentiation between the news broadcasts, but we argue that competition has not had deleterious effects on content but, conversely, has resulted in improvements in the content of state television.     

Predictors of Audience Interest in Adopting Digital Television

Although the deadline for mandated digital transmission for broadcast television (DTV) is fast approaching, we still know relatively little about viewer knowledge about and interest in adopting the new, higher resolution television receivers. This study profiles likely DTV adopters in terms of social locators, media adoption, orientation toward adopting new media, and affective measures. The relative success of the latter in distinguishing between likely DTV adopters and nonadopters underscores the utility of a new set of attitudinal variables to supplement demographics and technology adoption measures. These elements were less successful in explaining DTV awareness levels, which were relatively low.     

News Producers' Pressures on Advertisers: Production of Paid News in Slovenian Television Programs

While media and journalism studies focus on advertising pressures on news producers, media pressures on advertisers are overlooked. The present study is the first to analyze media pressures on advertisers and the ways in which all participants interpret the phenomenon. This study used ethnographic methods to study 10 Slovenian television stations and 10 corporate marketing departments, as well as in-depth interviews with key actors. The research showed that television advertising practitioners and journalists exert pressure on advertisers to pay for news that either promotes products/services or suppresses information that reflects badly on advertisers.     

Frame Intensity Effects of Television News Stories About a High-Visibility Protest Issue

This study investigated the effects of the intensity of the protest paradigm frame in news stories about social protests. In contrast to previous research, this experiment examined framing effects in the context of a highly visible and familiar issue. The intensity of the application of the protest paradigm frame and its attendant signifying elements and framing devices were manipulated in television news stories about pro-choice and pro-life protests. Specifically, the high-intensity protest paradigm frame conditions were more critical of the protesters. We tested six hypotheses regarding whether this greater frame intensity would lead viewers to be more negative toward the protesters. Results showed significant main effects of frame intensity for some dependent measures but not others. The findings offer more evidence of framing effects but also suggest limitations on their influence.     

论我国电视新闻娱乐化现象

电视新闻娱乐化促进了电视新闻的发展,满足了受众的多样化需求。而电视新闻泛娱乐化削弱了电视媒体的社会责任,降低了观众思维和行为能力,影响了电视新闻的传播效果。为了避免电视新闻娱乐化产生消极影响,应该把握好三个"度",即专业度、品位度和接受度。     

Coverage of the Surgical Strike on Television News in India

On 29 September 2016, the Indian army conducted a surgical strike along the India–Pakistan border. The mainstream news media in India followed the event with assertive nationalistic rhetoric. What was supposed to be a covert military operation against terrorism became morphed into political rhetoric aggravated by the unwarranted jingoism of television news channels and social media. The coverage of the strike on television news is typically characterized by a confluence of militant nationalist discourses, and the ideologically imbued labelling of specific communities. Within this context, drawing from the close reading of the coverage, this article analyses how Indian television news sustains the construction of a fictive “we”, conflated with the government policies and military strategies, and speaks for a supposedly homogeneous national consensus that also consciously obscures the dissent through minority voices. The article emphasizes the relationship between communities, formal politics, and the supposedly non-political spaces and practices of news media in India.     

Controlling Nature: Weathercasts on Local Television News

Since discovering the shrinking politician sound-bite, researchers have shown that TV news grew more journalist-centered since the 1960s. To explore how far journalistic authority extends, this study turns to the weather. It examines local coverage weekday mornings on three local stations before a national convention. Close qualitative reading, supplemented by content coding, compares weather rhetoric, tone, and style during segments. Weathercasters raise concerns during weather reports, which they soften during banter. Most surprising is their rhetorical claim to control nature. They personify weather, but ignore the audience. Accuracy in forecasts relates to the visual style and ratings of the station.     

电视新闻故事化存在的问题探析

随着新闻传播事业的发展,整个媒介环境开始出现一股泛故事化的趋势和倾向,进而影响到新闻的品位,甚至产生一定的负面作用.对于新闻故事化这种手段,我们应该加以辨证的看待.     

电视新闻细节论

本文旨在创立电视新闻细节的全新概念,阐述其定义、特征、作用     

Journalist and Source Gender in Australian Television News

Content analysis of 450 news stories broadcast by five Australian television networks over a period of one week indicated that men were generally over-represented as presenters, reporters, and expert sources. Female reporters predominated only in low-frequency, lower-ranked subjects. Although expert sources were mostly male, male and female reporters did not differ in their use of male or female sources. Despite increased participation of women in journalism, findings indicate a lasting association of men with higher status stories, source authority, sport, and hard news.     

The Portrayal of Race and Crime on Television Network News

A content analysis of television network news was conducted to assess the portrayal of race and criminal behavior. Findings revealed that Whites were more likely than African Americans to appear as perpetrators, victims, and officers. Both African Americans and Whites were more likely to appear as perpetrators than as victims and officers. African American and White law-breakers were represented in a way consistent with their perpetration rates. However, Whites were overrepresented while African Americans were underrepresented as victims of violent crime. Furthermore, Whites were over represented and African Americans were under-represented as police officers. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Priming Effects of Late-Night Comedy

Having become fully integrated into the contemporary politicallandscape, infotainment-oriented media extend Americans’traditional news (e.g. newspaper, radio, and television) toinclude a greater number of sources for political information,and in some cases, political mobilization. Given the increasingprominence of infotainment-oriented media in contemporary politics,this study addresses the effects of one particular type of infotainment—late-nightcomedy—during the 2000 presidential campaign. Specifically,we are interested in whether watching late-night comedy showsinfluences viewers’ evaluations of the candidates whohave appeared on these shows; in particular, we investigatepriming as the mechanism by which such influences occur. Findingsfrom the 2000 National Annenberg Election Survey (N = 11,482)indicate that evaluations of candidates are based in part onrespondents’ sociodemographics, perceptions of candidatesto handle certain issues, and their character traits. Therewas a main effect of watching late-night comedy on evaluationsof candidates; more importantly, viewers were more likely thannonviewers to base their evaluations of George W. Bush on charactertraits after he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.     

The Effects of Personal and Social Uses of Mobile Health Applications on Healthy Behaviors

In the face of America’s obesity epidemic, mobile health applications (MHAs) offer solutions for motivating users to be healthier. MHAs include both personal features for the individual user (e.g., calorie tracking) and social features, which connect the user to others (e.g., for support or competition). The present study explores the connection between both personal and social uses of MHAs and healthy behaviors. Findings indicate that the use of MHAs is positively associated with healthier overall behaviors: Personal aspects were related to healthier eating and workout behaviors, and social aspects were positively associated with only healthier workout behaviors. Perceptions of social support from others predicted healthier overall behaviors and were related to increased body satisfaction. Implications for the role of social support in MHAs are discussed.     

The Effects of News and Entertainment on Interpersonal Trust: Political TalkRadio,Newspapers, and Television

In a now-famous article, Robert Putnam traced changes in interpersonal (IP) trust, civic engagement, and political trust in the United States during the past 3 decades. Although trust in government has declined, so have IP trust and civic engagement. Putnam places the blame for the loss of the various components of so-called civic or social capital squarely on television as a medium. We analyze 4 data sets to explain IP trust. Education, newspaper readership, and age are consistent and strong associates of trusting attitudes and behaviors. Reported political talk radio listening and elite electronic news use also are linked to trust. Those high in social trust, however, are not consistently heavier or lighter consumers of television. Putnam's hypothesis, in other words, is not confirmed in these data. Implications, as well as some reasons to continue to entertain the hypothesis, are explored.     

论动漫在电视新闻传播中的叙事价值——以两岸三地的华语电视新闻节目为例

随着电子媒介易用技术的普及,大众媒体海量化的传播趋势日益厚重,如何改进、强化媒体的传播形式,以聚集、驾驭受众的注意力,已经成为当代媒介提升自身竞争力的重要内容。目前,台湾电视同仁运用“动漫”语言形式技巧在化解电视新闻中“空镜头多、重复镜头多、虚假扮演镜头多、准确叙事镜头少”的“三多一少”难题方面取得了显著成果。本文以符号学、叙事学等基础学理为据,通过解读“两岸三地”华语电视新闻节目运用“动漫”这一叙事形式及其特点与传播价值,探讨当代电视新闻传播过程中日趋精细的画面叙事形式追求,以期为电视新闻的叙事形式、制作观念提供借鉴,其重要意义应视之为我国电视新闻传播观念的重大变革。     

Perceived Source Credibility of Local Television News: The Impact of Television Form and Presence

An increasing number of local news stations are producing and broadcasting their newscasts in high-definition television (HDTV), but to date there has not been an investigation of audience perceptions of news in high definition. This study presents the results from an experiment investigating the influence of television form (image quality and field of view) on presence and audiences' perceptions of source credibility for news anchors and local news. The results demonstrate that improved image quality (HDTV) has a positive influence on audience perceptions of source credibility and the overall credibility of newscasts. Implications are discussed.     

Crafting News Narratives on Social Media

Thai news organizations are developing innovative cross-media news strategies and several of these strategies revolve around social media, which are fast becoming a hub for repurposing and extending traditional content. This paper reports on an empirical study conducted by using in-depth interviews with journalists from the social-media teams of three news organizations in Thailand – PPTV HD36, Nation Multimedia Group and Thairath – to analyse storytelling strategies. The key finding shows that cross-media content can extend news coverage to different aspects of a story, to inform and explain issues, and engaging audiences. This study suggests the objective use and design of content by dividing it into four types, based on functions: repurposing, engaging, cross-promoting and extending exclusive content to new-media platforms, so that it is designed with narrative styles that will carry a story across multiple platforms while ensuring that the different aspects and presentations remain connected to the main issue. A clear understanding of the function to be served by content can help newsrooms to plan suitable narrative styles and the sequence in which long-tail journalism is distributed across platforms to ensure that the quality of journalism is upheld in respect of providing a well-rounded coverage of diverse issues.     

Influences on the Construction of Health News: The Reporting Practices of Local Television News Health Journalists

Local television news remains a primary news source for Americans and is a key source of consumer health information. This study explores why local television health journalists cover particular topics and assesses why health journalism newsgathering practices often differ from the normative newsgathering practices of general assignment reporters. Fifteen in-depth telephone interviews were conducted with health journalists from varying geographical regions and media markets. Influence from local hospitals and personal interest in a health topic often determined the health content the journalists produced. Journalists said it was difficult to cover health issues in addition to other newsroom responsibilities.