Lee.++Assessment+of+motion+media+on+believability+and+credibility

Author: Lee, Hyunmin' Park, Sun-A; Lee, YoungAh; Cameron, Glen T.
Source: Public Relations Review 3 no3 S 2010 p310-312 ISSN: 0363-8111 DOI: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.04.003 //**Publisher:**// Elsevier ScienceThe Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England OX5 1GB

**Abstract**
The radical shift by news audiences away from newspaper to motion media (video stories on TV, web, cell phones, handhelds) prompted the assessment of media modality (text, text + picture, video) and source (public relations, news, user-generated content [UGC]) effects on credibility and more importantly perceived veridicality, a perception of an object as being accurate and believable regardless of the source, as well as impact of messages. The findings revealed that motion media modality significantly enhances believability judgments and perceived veridicality, which is independent of source cue, in which news source garnered no greater credibility than PR or UGC source.

**Arguments**

The argument is that motion media does effect the way that audiences perceive information as fact regardless of source.

**Key Passages** A 3 (source: news vs. public relations vs. interested individual) x 3 (modality: text vs. text + picture vs. text + video) between-subjects factorial design was used to explore the impact of source type and degree of modality on perceived credibility, perceived veridicality, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Two hundred and sixty three students from a large Midwestern University participated in this experiment, and were randomly assigned to one of the nine conditions. The news story was about an act to pass a campus smoking ban policy at a Midwestern University. Dependent variables for this study were perceived credibility, perceived veridicality, attitudes towards the news story, and intentions to pass the story. Perceived credibility was measured with four items ( accuracy, fairness, objectivity, and bias) developed by Kiousis and Dimitrova (2006). Perceived veridicality was measured with two instruments ( production aesthetics and degree of interest) developed from Slater and Rouner (1997). Additionally, for this study, believability was operationalized as an index for measuring veridicality. Attitude towards the story was measured by two items for two different attitudes— the people's rights and quality of life. Behavioral intentions to pass along the story were measured by three items adapted from behavior intentions of Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). All items were measured on a on a seven-point Likert scale.

**Selected Works Cited** Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Beaudoin, C. E., & Thorson, E. (2005). Credibility perceptions of news coverage of ethnic groups: The predictive roles of race and news use. Journal of Communications, 16, 33-48. Kiousis, S., & Dimitrova, D. V. (2006). Differential impact of web site content: Exploring the influence of source (public relations versus news), modality, and participation on college students' perceptions. Public Relations Review, 32(2), 177-179. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. (2008, August). Key news audiences now blend online and traditional sources. http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=1357 Accessed 20.03.09. Slater, M., & Rouner, D. (1997). How message evaluation and source attributes may influence credibility assessment and belief change. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 4, 974-991. Wanta, W., & Hu, Y.-W. (1994). The effects of credibility, reliance, and exposure on media agenda-setting: A path analysis model. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 71(1), 90-98. = =