Believing Journalists, AI, or Fake News: The Role of Trust in Media

An increasing amount of news is generated automatically by artificial intelligence (AI). While the technology has advantages for content production, e.g., regarding efficiency in aggregating information, it is also viewed critically due to little transparency in obtaining results and possible biases. As news media are dependent on trust and credibility, introducing AI to facilitate mass communication with consumers seems to be a risky endeavor. We expand research on consumer perception of AI-based news by comparing machine-written and human-written texts to fake news and by examining the role of trust that consumers exhibit when evaluating news. Through an experiment with 263 participants, we find that consumers judge AI-based texts similar to true journalistic content when it comes to credibility, but similar to fake news regarding readability. Furthermore, our results indicate that consumers with low trust in media are less averse to AI-based texts than consumers with high trust in media

Reorganisation der Medienwirtschaft durch Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement? Explorative Analysen der Kommunikation von Unternehmensverantwortung

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Bedeutung, die Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement für die anstehende weitere Reorganisation der Medienwirtschaft haben kann. Dazu wurde in zwei explorativen Studien einerseits die "interne" Selbstberichterstattung verschiedener Industrien in Bezug auf Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) der Vereinten Nationen untersucht, andererseits die "externe" Medienberichterstattung zu diesem Thema. Beide Studien liefern interessante Einblicke, die sowohl in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation als auch auf Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement interessante neue Erkenntnisse liefern. Besonders deutlich werden diesbezüglich zahlreiche Defizite bezogen auf die kritische Selbstreflexion gerade in der Medienindustrie.This article deals with the significance that sustainability management can have for the upcoming further reorganization of the media industry. To this end, two explorative studies were conducted to examine, on the one hand, the "internal" self-reporting of various industries with regard to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and, on the other hand, the "external" media reporting on this topic. Both studies provide interesting insights that yield interesting new findings with regard to both sustainability communication and sustainability management. In this regard, numerous deficits related to critical self-reflection become particularly clear, especially in the media industry

Social Media Celebrities as Digital Media Entrepreneurs: Capturing an Emergent Phenomenon

Previously unknown online users posting videos have recently achieved a kind of stardom. Such “Social Media Celebrities” (SMC) are “influencers” impacting on content consumption as well as on purchase decisions. By producing new types of content based on their creativity and monetizing it via social media platforms in innovative ways, they also became digital media entrepreneurs. This explorative study draws from global audience data as well as from video content in international comparison and a representative survey on gratifications sought by its consumption and quality criteria is applied. The findings suggest that a perceived quality is based on the celebrities’ credibility and the sympathy that users feel for them, with gratifications sought much like for traditional media. Users are aware that advertising is an integral part of the content, leading to stronger affiliation of them with SMCs and brands alike, providing challenges and opportunities for users themselves but also for the incumbent media

The intricate relationship of the media business and economic development

Growth theories are among the cornerstones of economic theory, dating back to the field’sorigins. There have been many explanations for growth (or lack of thereof), yet the role of the media in economic development has only begun to receive increasing attention overthe last twenty years.Our contribution hopes to shed light on the intricate relationship between the media business (and its specific sub-segments) and general economic development (and possible intervening variables). Based on media data provided by an international consultancy, economic indicators from the World Bank, and several sources mapping national “media systems” we will outline the diversity of the world’s 30 leading countries (in mediaterms) and expose the correlations between them. Additionally, annual data from the 2001-2010 period will allow for analyses of time series and possible causal relationships. Analyses show a strong correlation between media industries’ yearly revenue and GDP. Correlations shifted by time intervals also point beyond annual effects. Media’s long-termgrowth and their share of overall economic value creation, along with compound economicgrowth rates and the general state of development, are all strongly linked to each other as well as to media systems’ variables, like freedom of the press. Nevertheless, despite the overall dependency of media industries’ growth on the growth of GDP, less developed countries show stronger rates of media growth than might be expected based on GDP growth. Furthermore, outperformance in media markets’ growth appears to stimulate general economic development, which suggests a process of co-evolution.As teorias do crescimento são um dos pilares da teoria económica e, por conseguinte, se remontam aos inicios do campo. Embora tenham se desenvolvido diversas abordagens para explicar o crescimento económico, o rol da mídia recém começou a receber atenção académicanos últimos vinte anos.Nosso trabalho vai tentar esclarecer o intrincado relacionamento entre o negócio da mídia (e seus subsegmentos específicos) e o desenvolvimento económico geral (mais as variáveis que possam intervir). A partir de dados proporcionados por uma consultora internacional, indicadores econômicos do Banco Mundial e outras fontes que esquematizam os “sistemasda mídia” nacional, será exibida a diversidade dos 30 países mais destacados —midiaticamente falando— e serão traçadas as correlações entre eles. Além disso, serão analisadas séries temporais e possíveis relaciones causais segundo dados anuais do período 2001-2010. As análises mostram uma forte correlação entre as rendas anuais das indústrias mediáticase o PBI. As correlações deslocadas por intervalos de tempo também indicam efeitos anuais. O crescimento no longo prazo da mídia, seu rol na geração de valor económico, as taxas de crescimento económico compostas e o estado geral de desenvolvimento estão estreitamente vinculados entre si e ligados com certas variáveis dos sistemas da mídia como a liberdadede prensa. De qualquer maneira, apesar das taxas de crescimento das indústrias da mídia geralmente dependem do crescimento do PBI, os países menos desenvolvidos disfrutam níveis de crescimento mediático mais alto que os que poderíamos esperar a partir do PBI. Finalmente, o crescimento do mercado da mídia parece estimular o desenvolvimento económico geral, o que indica uma coevolução.Las teorías del crecimiento son uno de los pilares de la teoría económica y, por ende, se remontan a los inicios del campo. Aunque se han desarrollado diversos abordajes para explicar el crecimiento económico, el rol de los medios recién empezó a recibir atención académica en los últimos veinte años.Nuestro trabajo pretenderá esclarecer las intrincadas relaciones entre el negocio de los medios (y sus subsegmentos específicos) y el desarrollo económico general (más las variables que puedan intervenir). A partir de datos proporcionados por una consultora internacional, indicadores económicos del Banco Mundial y otras fuentes que esquematizan los “sistemas de medios” nacionales, exhibiremos la diversidad de los 30 países más destacados —mediáticamente hablando— y trazaremos las correlaciones entre ellos. Además, analizaremos series temporales y posibles relaciones causales según datos anuales del período 2001-2010. Los análisis demuestran una fuerte correlación entre los ingresos anuales de las industrias mediáticas y el PBI. Las correlaciones desplazadas por intervalos de tiempo también indican efectos anuales. El crecimiento a largo plazo de los medios, su rol en la generación de valor económico, las tasas de crecimiento económico compuestas y el estado general de desarrollo están estrechamente vinculados entre sí y ligados con ciertas variables de los sistemas de medios como la libertad de prensa. De todos modos, a pesar de que las tasas de crecimiento de las industrias de medios generalmente dependen del crecimiento del PBI, los países menos desarrollados disfrutan niveles de crecimiento mediático más altos que los que podríamos esperar a partir del PBI. Finalmente, el crecimiento del mercado de medios parece estimular el desarrollo económico general, lo que indica una coevolución

Unter Kannibalen?

Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird die Entwicklung der computervermittelten Kommunikation im Lichte ihres Verhältnisses zu traditionellen Medienangeboten gleicher Marke betrachtet. Während auf aggregierter Ebene mittlerweile einige Studien vorliegen, die zeigen, dass Print-Angebote von entsprechenden Online-Angeboten zunehmend substituiert werden, ist die Datenlage hinsichtlich des Vergleichs der jeweiligen Print- und Online-Angebote des einzelnen Verlags dünn. Die Ergebnisse sind widersprüchlich und beziehen sich meist nur auf eine einzelne Untergattung. Wie es um diese „Kannibalisierung“ steht, die als befürchteter Effekt viele Verlage zumindest anfänglich von einem beherzten Online-Engagement abhielt und dadurch die Entwicklung redaktioneller Online-Angebote maßgeblich beeinflusste, versucht dieser Beitrag anhand einer Auswertung der Auflagenentwicklungen für ausgewählte deutsche Titel zu ermitteln. Während für Abotageszeitungen erfolgreiche Online-Angebote mit überdurchschnittlicher Performanz in Print korreliert sind, hängt der Zusammenhang bei Publikumszeitschriften vom Genre ab. Während für einige gilt „Online gut, Print gut“, ist für andere das Gegenteil der Fall. Da nachweisbare Zusammenhänge erst in der zweiten Hälfte der 2000er Jahre vorliegen, kann vermutet werden, dass damit auch eine Entwicklung des Nutzers vom Experimentieren zwischen den Gattungen und einzelnen Angeboten hin zu einem Routine gewordenen neuen Medienportfolio dokumentiert ist

Technological advances and the future of corporate and marketing communication: An international foresight study among experts from different professional backgrounds

This study strives to shed light on the potential impact of technological advances on specific aspects of corporate and marketing communication. It is based on an international survey among experts from different professional backgrounds (n=470) and a follow-up group discussion of the survey results with selected media industry experts to identify required actions by companies to cope with various aspects of change. Our foresight approach with a time horizon until about 2030 suggest that artificial intelligence (AI), virtual, mixed, or augmented reality, new human machine interfaces in general as well as internet of things (IoT) and blockchain will have the most substantial effects alongside with the increasing complexity and need for integration of various communication activities. Furthermore, content creation will become automated to a considerable extent in this decade and thus will require process innovation to get it organized. As a result, companies should build internal expertise on AI at decision making level to avoid dependencies on external consultancy and set-up a proactive partnering with suppliers of the other key technologies

An integrative model for the dynamics of ICT-based innovations in education

Empirical evidence underlines the importance of ICT-based innovations in education for at least two reasons: They prepare for a future workplace in a knowledge society increasingly dependent on ICT and furthermore, they support student-centred learning processes. However, adoption of ICT in educational organizations in general as well as of specific ICT-based innovations varies broadly across nations as there are many different influencing factors with strong interdependencies. In order to better understand the dynamics of innovations in education, in this article we expose to discussion an integrative model based on a combination of models of individual and organizational adoption processes and their interplay with a socio-economic environment. The authors propose this concept of an “educational innovation system” to analyse differences in the diffusion of ICT-based innovations across countries and to better understand educational policies and their impact on classroom practice

What Users Expect from Future Terminal Devices: Empirical Results from an Expert Survey

For the acceptance of future network-based media services the technical advancement of the man-machine interface is of great importance. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe has conducted an expert survey on different acceptance factors, on the future development of media usage behavior, on network infrastructure and terminal devices as well as on the expected market development. Drawing on the results we point out perspectives in the light of today's user needs and the technical possibilities. Over the last two decades progress in software engineering and hardware miniaturization have turned the computer from a large device that could only be operated by specialists into a common consumer good that can be found in almost all areas of private and business life. The IBM Personal Computer (1981) and the Apple Macintosh (1984) were important early milestones on the way to the computer as a useful product for everyone. Today it is much more ..