What’s a news media brand worth? Investigating the effect of cognitive brand representations on recipients’ quality assessment of news articles

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7477564
AutoresRobin Leuppert (0000-0001-8940-9985, Hanover University of Music Drama and Media, autor correspondente), Sophie Brun (0000-0002-8243-8916, Hanover University of Music Drama and Media), Vanessa Rahe (Hanover University of Music Drama and Media), Helmut Scherer (Hanover University of Music Drama and Media)
Ano2024
Volume27
Fascículo1
Páginas163-182
Data de publicação2024-10-07
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournalism (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14648849241285497
OpenAlexW4403225709
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas36

News recipients evaluate the quality of journalistic news articles based on the article’s journalistic quality and its media brand. We argue that differentiating a news media’s brand identity from recipients’ cognitive associations with the brand offers a valuable perspective to understand quality evaluations in a more detailed way. We, therefore, specify the effect of media brands on the quality evaluation by including consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) as a mediator and investigate this mediation effect for five quality dimensions and a global quality measure. Based on a two (high vs low quality) x three (quality brand vs tabloid brand vs control group) between-subject experiment with 469 German respondents, we conducted structural equation modeling to investigate the direct effects of media brands on recipients’ quality assessment of news articles and the mediating effect via CBBE. We found mediation effects of the media brand via CBBE on all quality dimensions and the global measure. In addition, two direct media brand effects with opposite effect directions than expected could be identified. All results are discussed concerning further theory development and practical implications

Advertising · Brand awareness · Business · Cognition · Quality (philosophy · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Marketing