Journalism-as-a-conversation: An experimental test of socio-psychological/technological dimensions in journalist-citizen collaborations

Abstract

References to the concept journalism-as-a-conversation abound in audience-centered literatures. Largely missing, though, are clear operational definitions. This exploratory study sought to help close that gap by finding a way to measure conversational journalism in terms of key socio-psychological and technological dimensions, then to test it on perceived credibility and expertise in newspaper sites. Findings suggest conversational journalism is powerful but nuanced. Conversation features most predictive of credibility and expertise were audience members’ perceived similarity to a journalist and that journalist’s online interactivity with the audience.