Electronic News

The term “post-truth” was declared by Oxford Dictionaries to be its 2016 “International Word of the Year,” signifying the advent of a so-called post-truth era with rising misinformation and declining trust in media. Meanwhile, the “age of data” has seen a proliferation of big data alongside an increase in data-driven journalism, which is one critical way to make professional journalists distinctive with the production of fact-based, authoritative news. Using devised variations of one news report as stimuli, this experiment involves five test groups to determine whether data and data visualizations impact the perceived credibility of news. Results show that only when accompanied by visualizations does the use of data have a positive effect. Findings suggest the necessity and significant role of data visualizations in news production. The study also reveals that increased use of data components in the news does not always contribute to its audience’s perception of news credibility.

A quantitative survey of local television news directors in the United States (N = 159) explored three main topics: the perception/attitudes of current local TV news directors, potential differences in those attitudes by market size, and whether news directors felt “in step” with their staff and/or upper management. The results indicated that the majority of news directors are still White, male, and middle-aged. News directors see a strong connection between news product quality and resources devoted to news. News directors were also, overall, pessimistic about the future of the TV news industry. Analysis indicated that there were few differences among the news directors working in large, medium, and small markets. Further, news directors reported being somewhat “out-of-step” with their staff and management regarding profit and market orientation.