The more, the better? Effects of transparency tools and moderators on the perceived credibility of news articles

Transparency is often discussed as a way to increase the public’s perception of journalism. While its adoption by newsrooms is relatively well studied, only a few studies have investigated its effects on news users’ credibility judgments. We build on research about transparency effects and report the results of two online experiments (total N = 2262), one with a local and one with a national newspaper frame. Our results suggest that transparency does not affect the perceived message and source credibility newspaper articles and that moderating factors such as cognitive involvement and media skepticism are more important predictors of credibility assessments.

Google Trends as a predictive tool for COVID-19 vaccinations in Italy: a retrospective infodemiological analysis.

Background: Google Trends is an infoveillance tool widely used by the scientific community to investigate different user behaviors related to COVID-19. However, several limitations regarding its adoption are reported in the literature. Objective: This brief paper aims to provide an effective and efficient approach to investigating vaccine adherence against COVID-19 via Google Trends. Methods: Through the cross-correlational analysis of well-targeted hypotheses, we investigate the predictive capacity of web searches related to COVID-19 towards vaccinations in Italy from November 2020 to November 2021. The keyword "vaccine reservation" (VRQ) was chosen as it reflects a real intention of being vaccinated (V). Furthermore, the impact of the second-largest Italian national newspaper on vaccines-related web searches was investigated to evaluate the role of the mass media as a confounding factor. Results: Simple and generic keywords are more likely to identify the actual web interest in COVID-19 vaccines than specific and elaborated keywords. Cross-correlations between VRQ and V were very strong and significant (min r^2 = .460, P<.001, lag = 0 weeks; max r^2 = .903, P < .001, lag = 6 weeks). Cross-correlations between VRQ and news about COVID-19 vaccines have been markedly lower and characterized by greater lags (min r^2 = .190, P=.001, lag = 0 weeks; max r^2 = .493, P < .001, lag = -10 weeks). No correlation between news and vaccinations was sought since the lag would have been too high. Conclusions: This research provides strong evidence in favor of using Google Trends as a surveillance and prediction tool for vaccine adherence against COVID-19 in Italy. These findings prove that the search for suitable keywords is a fundamental step to reduce confounding factors. Additionally, targeting hypotheses helps diminish the likelihood of spurious correlations. It is recommended that Google Trends be leveraged as a complementary infoveillance tool by government agencies to monitor and predict vaccine adherence in this and future crises by following the methods proposed in this manuscript.

Profit Versus Partisan Causes in Diverse Ownership Models: A Case Study of Mainstream Newspapers in East Indian City of Kolkata

The extant scholarship of media ownership, largely drawn from Anglo-Saxon studies, focuses on how corporate excesses translate to abuses of the public interest goal of journalism, paying less attention to ‘political instrumentalism’. This research aims to study how the complex interplay of business and political instrumentalism influences editorial policies in diversely owned, regional and national news media through a case study of commercially run newspapers’ coverage of anti-industrialization protests in the East Indian city of Kolkata. Through political–economic critiques and thematic analysis of newspaper articles and qualitative interviews, this research asserts the importance of the role of the ‘proprietor-editor’ and the binaries of regional/ national newspaper markets in the interplay of business and political instrumentalism in diversely owned news media.

Interscholastic inclusion: Local and National News Framing of High School Transgender Athletes

Debates of who is and is not permitted to participate in sport have been magnified in regard to those whose gender identity deviates from traditional heteronormative standards. Former high school transgender athletes Mack Beggs and Andraya Yearwood, in states with different stances toward trans participation, were thrust into media spotlights. A content analysis examined local and national newspaper reporting about the individuals and their states’ policies. Newspapers did not uphold perceived hegemonic ideals associated with sport by negatively depicting each marginalized athlete. Journalists applauded both for driving conversations toward equal opportunity in high school athletics.

The Role Of Canadian National Print Media In Fostering Positive Public Opinion Towards The Legislation Of Same-Sex Marriage In Canada

<div>Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms emerged in 1982, Canadian national print news was central to the complex networks in the establishment of same-sex marriage in 2005. Newspapers framed marriage equality as a human rights’ issue, within conventions for balance and objectivity. However, LGBTQrelated issues have not consistently been approached this way by the media, which have traditionally created and regulated boundaries of gender and sexuality (Rubin 2007). This dissertation explores why Canadian mainstream press oscillated between anti-queer and pro-LGBTQ approaches in a post-Charter Canada and its effect on public opinion.</div><div>I show how news reporting is symbiotically implicated in Canadian public perspectives through public sphere theory (Habermas 1989; Fraser 1992). Frame analysis demonstrates how the issue was ideologically positioned in print (Goffman, 1974; Entman 1993; McCombs 2004; Scheufele 1999, 2000).</div><div>A content analysis of over 2,000 national newspaper articles published between 1982 and 2005 reveal the frames used in stories about marriage equality. Semi-structured interviews with journalists and activists contextualize the analysis. Responses determine how media frames may have implicated understanding and support of the issue, and why and how certain frames were decided by journalists.</div><div>This work informs the history of LGBTQ rights in Canada by exploring how the national news industry contributed to the framing of marriage equality. Analyses of news coverage of marriage equality remains largely US-centric (Brewer 2002 & 2003; Tadlock, et. al, 2007; Liebler et al., 2009; Li and Liu, 2010; Pan et al. 2010). Research on framing marriage equality in Canada focuses on litigants (Smith 2007), courts (Matthews 2005), and newspapers in 2003 and 2004 (Bannerman 2012). Despite several studies concerning the politics of sexual diversity in Canada (Hogg 2006; Kinsman 1996; Kinsman and Gentile 2010; Pettinicchio 2010; Rayside 2008; M. Smith 2008, 2012), marriage equality has not been studied extensively.</div>

The Role Of Canadian National Print Media In Fostering Positive Public Opinion Towards The Legislation Of Same-Sex Marriage In Canada

<div>Since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms emerged in 1982, Canadian national print news was central to the complex networks in the establishment of same-sex marriage in 2005. Newspapers framed marriage equality as a human rights’ issue, within conventions for balance and objectivity. However, LGBTQrelated issues have not consistently been approached this way by the media, which have traditionally created and regulated boundaries of gender and sexuality (Rubin 2007). This dissertation explores why Canadian mainstream press oscillated between anti-queer and pro-LGBTQ approaches in a post-Charter Canada and its effect on public opinion.</div><div>I show how news reporting is symbiotically implicated in Canadian public perspectives through public sphere theory (Habermas 1989; Fraser 1992). Frame analysis demonstrates how the issue was ideologically positioned in print (Goffman, 1974; Entman 1993; McCombs 2004; Scheufele 1999, 2000).</div><div>A content analysis of over 2,000 national newspaper articles published between 1982 and 2005 reveal the frames used in stories about marriage equality. Semi-structured interviews with journalists and activists contextualize the analysis. Responses determine how media frames may have implicated understanding and support of the issue, and why and how certain frames were decided by journalists.</div><div>This work informs the history of LGBTQ rights in Canada by exploring how the national news industry contributed to the framing of marriage equality. Analyses of news coverage of marriage equality remains largely US-centric (Brewer 2002 & 2003; Tadlock, et. al, 2007; Liebler et al., 2009; Li and Liu, 2010; Pan et al. 2010). Research on framing marriage equality in Canada focuses on litigants (Smith 2007), courts (Matthews 2005), and newspapers in 2003 and 2004 (Bannerman 2012). Despite several studies concerning the politics of sexual diversity in Canada (Hogg 2006; Kinsman 1996; Kinsman and Gentile 2010; Pettinicchio 2010; Rayside 2008; M. Smith 2008, 2012), marriage equality has not been studied extensively.</div>

Influence of Personal Experience on Readership of Local Contents in National Newspapers Among Residents of Select Communities in Anambra North

This study is a response to over concentration of media studies on media effect. Premised on the negligence of what personal experiences and social ties can do to media consumers. The study examined whether personal experiences stimulate the need for information among respondents; if personal experience of issues informs readership of local news in national newspapers; determine whether community attachment encourages exposure to local news in national newspapers and establish whether people who are more involved in a community read local contents in national newspaper more than those who are less involved. The study applied survey and FGD research methods using questionnaire and interview guide to gather data from 400 respondents purposively selected from a total of 1,554,095 residents of the study area. The community attachment and sense of community theories were used to provide theoretical background for the study. Findings revealed that personal experiences of an issue in a community involvement of the resident encourage the desire for media interpretation of the issues already known. Drawing from available literatures and field data from the study, the researcher equally found that the more closely tied and committed one is to one‟s community, the more one desires to know about that community. The two null hypotheses tested and rejected provided more statistical support to the research findings obtained from the study.

A Decade of Terrorism in the United States and the Emergence of Counter-Terrorism Medicine

Background: The United States (US) is ranked 22nd on the Global Terrorism Index (2019), a scoring system of terrorist activities. While the global number of deaths from terrorism over the past five years is down, the number of countries affected by terrorism is growing and the health care repercussions remain significant. Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) is rapidly emerging as a necessary sub-specialty, and this study aims to provide the epidemiological context over the past decade supporting this need by detailing the unique injury types responders are likely to encounter and setting the stage for the development of training programs utilizing these data. Methods: The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks in the US from 2008-2018. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the three terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD. Ambiguous events were excluded when there was uncertainty as to whether the incident met all of the criteria for inclusion in the GTD. The grey literature was reviewed, and each event was cross-matched with reputable international and national newspaper sources online to confirm or add details regarding weapon type used and, whenever available, details of victim and perpetrator fatalities and injuries. Results: In total, 304 events were recorded during the period of study. Of the 304 events, 117 (38.5%) used incendiary-only weapons, 80 (26.3%) used firearms as their sole weapon, 55 (18.1%) used explosives, bombs, or dynamite (E/B/D), 23 (7.6%) were melee-only, six (2.0%) used vehicles-only, four (1.3%) were chemicals-only, two (0.7%) used sabotage equipment, two (0.7%) were listed as “others,” and one (0.3%) used biological weapon. There was no recorded nuclear or radiological weapon use. In addition, 14 (4.6%) events used a mix of weapons. Conclusions: In the decade from 2008 through 2018, terrorist attacks on US soil used weapons with well-understood injury-causing modalities. A total of 217 fatal injuries (FI) and 660 non-fatal injuries (NFI) were sustained as a result of these events during that period. Incendiary weapons were the most commonly chosen methodology, followed by firearms and E/B/D attacks. Firearm events contributed to a disproportionality high fatality count while E/B/D events contributed to a disproportionally high NFI count.