In Partisan Media We Trust: Does Incivility Exacerbate Levels of Programmatic and Institutional Media Trust in Partisan Viewers?

Using oppositional media hostility, an extension of hostile media effect (HME), this study explores how perceptions of bias influence individuals’ trust in the media when viewing political cable news programming, particularly when the content of the programming is uncivil. I argue that when partisans watch outgroup political cable news programming, they will perceive it as containing higher levels of bias, which will then relate to lower levels of trust in the specific news program and the media as an institution. I also contend that when there is incivility in the program, these effects will be exacerbated. To test this argument, I conducted a survey experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to watch a short video clip from a news program on CNN or Fox News in which the content was either civil or uncivil. The findings demonstrate that although partisans viewing outgroup political cable news programming did indeed have higher levels of bias, which then resulted in lower levels of programmatic and institutional media trust, it did not make a difference whether the content of the program was civil or uncivil. This suggests that while partisanship plays a large role in perceptions of bias and levels of media trust, it is not quite clear how exactly incivility in the media effects the electorate

Opportunities for Departmental Strategic Planning: Enhancing the Experience for Incoming Transfer Students in the Department of Communication

The COMM 765: Strategic Planning & Communication Campaigns course conducted research on behalf of the Department of Communications to inform the future 2018-2023 planning and goals for the department. A quantitative survey was designed to examine key stakeholder groups including: faculty, staff, donors, current students and alumni. Each stakeholder group received a unique set of research questions. For example, donors were surveyed to determine their willingness, interest and knowledge of how to support department initiatives through the PSU Foundation; while current students were asked to share their thoughts on the effectiveness of current student organizations, and perceptions toward course developments and availability. All groups were provided with qualitative questions for gathering open-ended feedback. This oral presentation reports the findings from this study