The Correspondent, the Comic, and the Combatant

Abstract

Tailored within the increasingly competitive news environment, political talk shows have adopted a range of styles, heralding a rise in "combatant" and "comic" hosts to complement the conventional "correspondent." Using an experimental design to rule out self-selection biases, this study isolates the impact of host style on media judgments. In comparison to the other styles, the correspondent host increases perceptions of informational value, enhances host and program credibility, and reduces erosion of media trust, while a comic host mitigates some of the negative impact compared to a combatant host. Implications for media accountability and democratic functioning are discussed.

Not Funny? The Effects of Factual Versus Sarcastic Journalistic Responses to Uncivil User Comments

“…Both concepts emphasize the importance of a “greater inclusion of and interaction with publics across digital media platforms” (Holton et al, 2015, p. 2527). Basically, the activities of interactive comment moderators can also be compared with the duties of moderators in political talk shows who too interactively organize and supervise discussion spaces and act as “promoters of high-quality information exchange” (Vraga et al, 2012, p. 8). This analogy is important because like their “offline” colleagues, interactive comment moderators can respond to comments using different language styles, which can be assumed to affect how observers perceive and evaluate the discussions.…”

“…This analogy is important because like their “offline” colleagues, interactive comment moderators can respond to comments using different language styles, which can be assumed to affect how observers perceive and evaluate the discussions. Vraga and colleagues (2012) distinguished three hosting styles: a “host as correspondent” moderates discussions in a dispassionate, fair, polite, and neutral manner. A “host as comic” interacts with guests in a humorous and/or satiric way and makes jokes and quips on the guests’ expenses.…”

“…On the one hand, research on community management and online deliberation often recommends moderators to mediate conflicts in a neutral manner and to criticize inappropriate user behavior openly, yet politely (e.g., Kraut et al, 2011; Wright, 2006). This factual moderation style can be compared with the previously described “host as correspondent” approach (Vraga et al, 2012). On the other hand, various studies have reported a rise of satirical information and entertainment media programs in the past decade (Rill & Cardiel, 2013; Vraga et al, 2012).…”

“…This factual moderation style can be compared with the previously described “host as correspondent” approach (Vraga et al, 2012). On the other hand, various studies have reported a rise of satirical information and entertainment media programs in the past decade (Rill & Cardiel, 2013; Vraga et al, 2012). Satire can be defined as an artistic form “in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure” (Elliott, 2014, para.…”

“…For example, they could playfully and excessively parody uncivil commenters’ behaviors in order to hold them up a mirror and reveal the inappropriateness of their behavior. Such a moderation strategy might be considered as a blend of the “host as comic” and “host as combatant” approaches (Vraga et al, 2012). In fact, using sarcasm and satire has already been found to be successful in keeping so-called “trolls” away from online forums (Coles & West, 2016).…”