Look me in the eyes: How direct address affects viewers’ experience of parasocial interaction and credibility?

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.