Credibility

In communication research, credibility typically refers to audience perceptions of the expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill of the communicator. While issues pertaining to credibility arise in many domains, they are especially relevant for journalism, as the inability to believe the news media makes it impossible to inform the public and monitor its leaders. The purpose of this entry is threefold: (a) to unpack the multidimensional concept(s) of credibility; (b) to examine the most common predictors and outcomes of credibility (or lack of it) in journalism; and (c) to outline directions for future research endeavors at the intersection of journalism and credibility.