Aggregation, Clickbait and Their Effect on Perceptions of Journalistic Credibility and Quality

Bibliographic Data

ID12909780
AuthorsLogan Molyneux (0000-0001-7382-3065, Temple University, corresponding author), Mark Coddington (0000-0001-6664-6152, Washington and Lee University)
Year2019
Volume14
Issue4
Pages429-446
Publication date2019-06-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2019.1628658
OpenAlexW2949535404
LanguageEN
Citations received46
References cited45

Many journalists and industry observers lament that aggregating news underneath sensational headlines will erode credibility and turn off readers. While some scholarly work has studied journalists’ perspectives of this practice, little has been done to understand what audiences think of aggregation and clickbait. This study uses published original and aggregated news articles as stimuli in two online experiments to test readers’ perceptions of news aggregation and clickbait. Aggregation itself has little effect on perceptions of credibility and quality; instead, writing proficiency is more closely linked to these perceptions. Results also suggest clickbait headlines may lower perceptions of credibility and quality

Advertising · Business · Credibility · Epistemology · Journalism · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Source credibility · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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