The Tragedy of Errors: Political Ideology, Perceived Journalistic Quality, and Media Trust

The More Competent, the More Critical?

“…news errors are becoming more likely due to increasing time pressure to publish -newsrooms have begun providing corrections (e.g., Wilner et al 2021). Although there is a long history of research on news accuracy (e.g., Charnley 1936), empirical research on audience perceptions of errors and corrections is scarce (Karlsson et al 2017;Wilner et al 2021). Furthermore, only a few studies to date have investigated how the content of corrections affects user perceptions (Hettinga and Appelman 2016).…”

“…To make a first step toward examining the influences of corrections and user characteristics on error perceptions, we investigated the impact of different forms of corrections and news media literacy on users' perceptions of errors in the news. Instead of focusing on credibility or trust perceptions (e.g., Wilner et al 2021), we focused on two dependent variables that are directly related to errors: the perceived severity and frequency of errors.…”

“…We argue that studying the effect of errors on directly related variables -such as perceived error severity or frequency -is beneficial for understanding the relationship between errors and credibility and trust Stefanie Holtrup, Jakob Henke und Wiebke Möhring Fachgruppe Medienpädagogik judgments made by users because perceived error severity and frequency influence these judgments (e.g., Wilner et al 2021). Scales that measure message credibility (e.g., Appelman and Sundar 2016), trust (e.g., Kohring and Matthes 2007) or even the perception of misinformation (Hameleers et al 2021) often include at least one item or dimension that captures accuracy or bias.…”

Generational Gaps in Media Trust and its Antecedents in Europe

“…State ownership of television is associated with higher levels of media trust in democratic societies, but with lower levels in nondemocratic societies (Tsfati and Ariely 2014). Journalistic quality has received less attention in media trust research (Wilner et al 2021) but research suggests that perceptions of bias and accuracy of the news media are important factors that determine media trust (Knight Foundation 2018). Bias and accuracy are perceived differently by audiences (Newman and Fletcher 2017) and are distinct parts of the journalistic objectivity norm (Hackett 2015).…”

“…Bias and accuracy are perceived differently by audiences (Newman and Fletcher 2017) and are distinct parts of the journalistic objectivity norm (Hackett 2015). While a link between accuracy and bias perceptions is possible (Kocher and Shaw 1981), they can also be independent functions of media trust (Wilner et al 2021).…”