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Media Research : Croatian journal for journalism and the media, Vol. 16 No. 1, 2010.

Original scientific paper

Credibility of Traditional vs. Online News Media: A Historical Change in Journalists’ Perceptions?

Melita Poler Kovačič ; Faculty of Social Sciences, Chair of Journalism, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Karmen Erjavec ; Faculty of Social Sciences, Chair of Journalism, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Katarina Štular ; Assistant, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chair of Journalism, Ljubljana, Slovenia

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Abstract

Current research is mixed with regard to the question of how the credibility of
information published on news websites compares with the credibility of information
offered by the traditional news media, although evidence is scarce
at this point. The main goal of this paper is to verify whether the rise and expansion
of news websites brought about a change in journalists’ perceptions
of media credibility. The authors present results of a survey of a random sample
of 106 journalists in Slovenia, asking them to evaluate the credibility of
different types of media, to explain their reasons for rating particular media as
more credible, and to describe their criteria for evaluating credibility. The key
finding of this survey is that the majority of journalists still believe that the
traditional media are the most credible; they hold a conservative standpoint in
the matter of journalistic credibility and its criteria. The negative judgment of
news websites may be partially a result of a will to defend the established
authority of one’s own profession. It may also be attributed to the weakly
developed online media scene in Slovenia, where the online media mostly operate as extensions of the traditional media. Additionally, it may be partially
a result of journalists’ negative evaluation and discontent with their own work.
Still, some journalists found online companies’ websites to be valuable, as they
offer prompt information which is constantly verified by the community of
online media users.

Keywords

credibility; history; Internet; new media; news websites; online journalism

Hrčak ID:

58486

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/58486

Publication date:

25.7.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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