The influence of sources in violent news on fright and worry responses of children in the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 233823.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Children display fright and worry responses to violent news. Including involved children, non-involved children or experts as sources in children's news is assumed to reduce these negative effects. However, exemplification theory gives reason to question whether particularly the use of involved children indeed has a reassuring effect. To test this, an experiment was conducted among 237 children (8-13 y/o). They were randomly exposed to a news video containing (1) involved children as source, (2) non-involved children, or (3) adult experts. Fright and worry responses were measured both before and after exposure. Results showed that the inclusion of involved children as a source significantly increased worry responses, but did not affect fright responses. Non-involved child sources significantly reduced fright and worry responses. Expert sources reduced children’s fright responses, but did not change feelings of worry. These insights can inform news producers on how to alleviate the effects of covering violent events in news.02 juni 202110 p

The influence of sensationalist features in television news stories on perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism of viewers in different age groups

This study investigates whether the decreased trust in news media can be explained by the increase in sensationalism in news. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which viewers (N = 288) evaluated sensationalist versus non-sensationalist television news in terms of perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism. Each participant watched four television news stories that varied in the presence of two categories of sensationalism: arousing content and tabloid packaging. Findings showed that sensationalist television news tends to be more negatively evaluated than non-sensationalist news. In addition, critical views on arousing content appeared to be particularly visible among young and middle-aged adults. These findings suggest that the rise of sensationalist news could be an explanation of the declining trust in news media that is witnessed in a number of countries

Children’s Emotions after Exposure to News: Investigating Chat Conversations with Peers as a Coping Strategy

Hardly any research has been conducted regarding coping strategies that children can use in response to negative news, although they are frequently exposed to and emotionally affected by such news. Chat conversations with peers about the news could be a coping strategy for children in this regard. To investigate this, children (N = 307; 46.3% girls; Mage = 10.51; SDage = 0.98; range 8–13 years old) participated in a preregistered experiment in which their emotions were measured before and after exposure to a news video on a smar

Second screening for news: Effects of presentation on information processing and program liking

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This study investigated the effects of second screen presentation mode on information processing and program liking. In an experiment, 121 participants watched a television news program. One group was assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were required to actively look up additional information on a second screen (‘look-up condition’), while a second group were assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were directly presented with the additional information on the second screen, with no looking-up required (‘presented information condition’). In a third condition, the single-screen condition, participants merely watched the news program. Results show that second screening negatively impacts factual recognition and program liking, regardless of presentation mode. While cued recall of information was lower in the second screen conditions than in the single screen condition, participants in the condition with presented information scored significantly higher on cued recall compared to the look-up condition. Analyses show the effects can be explained by the different levels of cognitive load elicited by different presentation modes.status: publishe

Second screening for news:Effects of presentation on information processing and program liking

This study investigated the effects of second screen presentation mode on information processing and program liking. In an experiment, 121 participants watched a television news program. One group was assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were required to actively look up additional information on a second screen ('look-up condition'), while a second group were assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were directly presented with the additional information on the second screen, with no looking-up required ('presented information condition'). In a third condition, the single-screen condition, participants merely watched the news program. Results show that second screening negatively impacts factual recognition and program liking, regardless of presentation mode. While cued recall of information was lower in the second screen conditions than in the single screen condition, participants in the condition with presented information scored significantly higher on cued recall compared to the look-up condition. Analyses show the effects can be explained by the different levels of cognitive load elicited by different presentation modes

Testing an intervention to stimulate early adolescents’ news literacy application in the Netherlands: A classroom experiment

In a time of blurring lines between online content, early adolescents’ (12–15 years old) lack of critical engagement with news is problematic. Therefore, we need more effective interventions to empower their news literacy. Interventions should go beyond only informing on the news production process and focus on individual’s news literacy application in everyday life. This study tests an intervention based on (news) media literacy and motivational theory, inspired by the needs and preferences of early adolescents themselves, to stimulate news literacy elements (news literacy self-efficacy, value for media literacy, motivation, and social norms) and news literacy application (news consumption, news analysis, and news evaluation). The intervention consists of three lessons in which early adolescents (N = 258) learn about the news production process, combined with a learning-by-doing approach: writing and checking news articles. Based on a between-subjects waitlist experiment, the intervention was effective in increasing participants’ news literacy self-efficacy, but not (yet) in stimulating other news literacy elements and news literacy application. Nevertheless, this experiment offers valuable insights on the development of news literacy interventions. Prior State of Knowledge: Early adolescents encounter lots of (online) news daily. However, they have great difficulty with deciding on its trustworthiness, accuracy, and relevance. There is a need for educational interventions that stimulate their everyday critical engagement with news: their news literacy application. Novel Contributions: The study presents an intervention founded in (news literacy) theory and co-creation. Early adolescents gained self-efficacy through writing and checking news articles, combined with information, and incorporating their social context. However, they did not yet increase in news literacy application. Practical Implications: Using learning-by-doing approaches to stimulate news literacy application can be complex. More attention to testing clear goals in media education, and to other factors that influence early adolescents’ learning, such as intervention length, feedback, and the social context, is needed.</p

On Different Sides : Investigating the Persuasive Effects of Anger Expression in Political News Messages

Anger expression is increasingly prevalent in political news messages. However, the persuasive effects of expressing anger in a political context have received scant attention from researchers. We conducted two experiments to investigate the hypothesis that anger expression is detrimental to persuasion because it runs counter to well-established social norms for the polite expression of opinions. We created political news messages including a persuasive appeal by a politician that was supported either with an expression of anger or with an expression of nonemotional disagreement. The results of Experiment 1 (N = 120) showed that anger messages were perceived as less appropriate than control messages, and that politicians expressing anger were perceived as less likable and less competent than politicians who disagreed in nonemotional terms. In Experiment 2 (N = 1,005), the negative effects of anger expression on perceived likability and competence were replicated. Also in line with Experiment 1, anger messages were perceived as less appropriate, but this time only for those with negative a priori attitudes toward the advocated position. In contrast, those with positive a priori positions toward the advocated position perceived anger messages as more appropriate than the control messages

Enjoyment of arousing television news: The role of age and sensation seeking

Contains fulltext : 126058-OA.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)This study investigated the role of television news as entertainment by focusing on the enjoyment that viewers experience while watching television news stories. In particular, the study examined the relationship between arousing news stories and enjoyment, and explored the potential moderating role of age and sensation seeking. Participants (N = 288) watched four news stories and reported both their feelings of arousal and their enjoyment of each story. An ∩-shaped relationship between arousal and enjoyment was found. This relationship was not moderated by sensation seeking, but it was moderated by age: The level of arousal at which enjoyment reached its maximum was higher in younger viewers.11 p