Abstract
This study examines whether viewers’ parasocial interaction with a journalist affects the credibility of the journalist and the credibility of the news message, as well as whether the journalist’s direct or indirect address triggers this effect. In a between-subjects experiment (N = 255), viewers had a more intense parasocial experience when the journalist addressed them directly rather than indirectly. Furthermore, viewers’ intense parasocial experiences contributed to their perceptions of source credibility, message credibility, and news enjoyment. Additionally, as predicted, a more vital parasocial experience indirectly affected credibility through enjoyment. The results concern journalist and news message credibility and the importance of audience engagement in the news is discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 941-959 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journalism |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2023.
Keywords
- Experience parasocial interaction
- direct address
- journalist credibility
- message credibility
- news enjoyment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)