Media Use Habits, Audience Expectations and Media Effects in Hong Kong's First Legislative Council Election

Abstract

This research investigates the origin of audience expectations and their subsequent role in the media use-to-effects process. It argues that a significant portion of perceptions of media is couched in people's media habits and these perceptions in turn mediate political effects attributable to mass media. Contextualized in the first Legislative Council election in Hong Kong, our analysis of data from a survey of 503 local residents yielded several revelations. First, audience expectations of campaign media performance have distinct dimensions stemming from different social structural backgrounds. Second, various dimensions of audience expectations are also associated with unique patterns of media use habits. And third, media's effects on campaign political knowledge and participation are to some extent mediated by what audience members expect from media coverage.

The digital divide versus the ‘digital delay’: Implications from a forecasting model of online news adoption and use

“…But he did not take into account the fact that even today, although they are accessible and easy to use for virtually everybody, these media are still used for news and information in very different ways by different socio-economic groups in societies. Newspapers, for example, tend to be used more by those with higher SES who display not only stronger needs for serious and comprehensive news and information but also adequate cognitive resources to process it (Eijck and Rees 2000;Graber 1989;Guo 2000). In contrast, the universally accessible but more entertainment-orientated television medium, and other information services that require fewer cognitive skills, have been more associated with lower-SES groups (Atkin and LaRose 1994;Neuendorf et al 1998;Neuendorf et al 2002).…”

Issue stance and perceived journalistic motives explain divergent audience perceptions of fake news

“…Extradition bill opponents (who are anti-government) attributed to the journalists responsible the motive of defending the government, while supporters (who are pro-government) attributed the motive of advocating for personal positions on the issue. In the past, studies have found that audiences hold some general expectations about what journalists ought to do, such that Hong Kong adults expected news coverage to be comprehensive, objective, and positive during a national election campaign (Guo, 2000). Nonetheless, this study found that audiences also constantly assess journalistic roles as they read news, particularly thoughts about what the journalists responsible are trying to accomplish with their words.…”

“…According to Guo’s (2000) survey of 503 adults in Hong Kong, audiences expect journalists to provide comprehensive, objective, and positive news coverage during a national election campaign. In other words, news audiences do hold opinions regarding what journalists should do, and they also hold expectations of journalists’ roles (Tandoc and Duffy, 2016).…”

Politicising Platform, or Another Campaign Tool: Locality-Related Differences in the Perception of Facebook’s Role in Pre-Election Period

“…The evaluation of the media thus reflects personal needs and interests, but at the same time it also overcomes them. People have certain shared normative expectations based on their perception of the media's role within the society, it seems, which cannot be explained simply by personal characteristics (Guo 2000).…”