Research Methods: Evaluating Journalistic Reports in Traditional Media

This essay examines the credibility of traditional media, focusing on journalistic reports and comparing them to online news sources. It discusses how factors like reputation, source selection, and in-depth reporting contribute to the perceived credibility of traditional media. The essay also addresses the challenges faced by traditional media in the digital age, including declining readership and competition from online platforms. It highlights the importance of accountability, transparency, and evidentiary support in maintaining credibility. Ultimately, the essay concludes that while traditional media faces challenges, it still holds a significant level of credibility due to its established reputation and focus on accurate, well-researched reporting. Desklib offers similar solved assignments and resources for students.

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RESEARCH METHODS
1. How credible are traditional media?
Media credibility is a multifaceted concept for which researchers uses different types
of approaches to understand and evaluate its components. While adding online news to it,
public have become more concerned about credibility of online news perceptions and easy
availability of news sources. With easy access to online news, consumers are also getting
concerned about trustworthiness of information and other physiognomies that seeks sources
are more reliable and credible. For traditional media, the leading feature of denomination
shows that it is alleged to be conversant. Television news are found to be most up to date and
time oriented on the other hand newspapers are seen more credible in terms of honesty,
balance and currency with having an additional feature of story telling style. Therefore, it can
be said that citizen journalism and news media are constructed on integrity. With online news
and websites, the traditional news media has made a competitor in news field which arise
further question for the mainstream journalists in traditional media whether to react to the
new competitor or become use to it. Generally, journalists have negative outlook towards
internet but again they are concerned about the credibility and reliability of online world also.
Such reactions confirm the institutional ability of traditional media and the legitimacy of
models of traditional journalism (Kovačič, et al., 2009).
Research in credibility of journalism and mass communication since past few decades
shows concentration of credibility to contemporary variations of new media channels. The
rise of online networking and social sites have made shut down few of newspapers and
magazines that have created negative headlines about traditional media prospects over the
past few years. However, significant increase of readers in electronic newspaper sites shows
that traditional media is more credible in relation to information on contemporary affairs.
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Paid newspapers and electronic newspaper sites receives high ratings than online media
inclusively and online media creditability are recorded lower as their average score is found
to be the lowest among all other media channels.
From past few decades, overall trust of public and press has declined over online
media news. Even many organisations declined the surveys made by online media news
channels and even newspapers believability declined from 80% to 59% in between 1985 to
2002. For television news, the decline was seen in 81% to 65% during that time. Regarding
media credibility, the online information generally finds that people rates online news in the
similar fashion as they rate other media. Politically interested media users examine the news
media for viewing internet publications as credible as traditionally delivered corresponding
items. They believed that online newspaper; magazines or politically based websites were
evaluated by credible respondents (Cassidy, 2007). In spite of the fact that print media and
traditional news outlets are significant for organisations, people and digital public relations,
most of the newspaper websites are either published by credible sources or recognised
publications. From SEO standpoint, because of the trustworthiness of these sites, they have a
tendency in gaining high metrics and thus a back linkage from a traditional media news
publication can provide support with SEO rankings even.
Study shows that traditional media are more credible than internet news in which
newspapers perceived more credibility than television, magazine and radio. However, across
all four traditional media, the differences between them are not significant but consideration
of credibility given by mass media to moderate credible source is more important. However,
some of the internet users reported that online news was more reliable than traditional media
as they felt that online news were more credible. While other study showed that news sites
credibility was significant reason behind the growth of media channels (Tanta, et al., 2017).
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Many people criticise their dissatisfaction with traditional media as journalists may
tend to become less self-critical. Many journalists nationwide gave opinion that the new
media was doing a nice work and were improvising on journalistic quality. In contrast, other
half suggested that their work was going in wrong direction and that there were many
realistic errors in news reports. Many of the local and national journalists scaled credibility as
most important issue that was faced by journalism professionals. Credibility to traditional
media can be given in mixed form indicating that online media are more credible than
traditional media only if information in them is offered by traditional organisations.
Credibility can be associated with dependence on the web rather than how much individual
uses the medium. While some traditional media over online sources, newspapers were given
much credibility, for teenagers, online media as well as television proved more effective.
Therefore, it can be said that traditional media established by traditional publications are
given more credibility than online news media channels (Chung, et al., 2012).
2. How credible are the journalistic reports of traditional media?
The main credibility of journalistic reports of traditional media are based on
reputation and tradition in which they are attributed to editors and reporters. People make
decision about particular news medium trustworthiness having in mind about particular
publication or journalist in mind. Who has written the report and in which manner is more
crucial for them in which majority emphasised more on journalistic reports. The main reason
behind giving credibility to journalistic reports are based on criterion of source assortment
like including sources involved in particular event or those who have somewhat significant
saying about the event. This makes the report more logical and impartial. According to
authors, news material is significant to be seen from ‘all sides’ and that ‘different sides’ of
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the story is included in the report. It is also necessary that search signs indicates the news
materials and journalists have verified that information before putting it in front of the public.
People crave for exclusive news where they demand to get clear picture about issues
and information’s that are sparse. Traditional media reports capitalise on such people desires,
providing their viewers with credible contents that are well researched. Facts attached with
familiar faces along with stories provide additional interest among readers. The basic role of
traditional journalistic reports is often overlooked by people who scream in media to
capitalise on online media craze. (Speakman, 2011).
Credible journalists write the reports in a way that makes clear about the certain event
and that it is confirmed or is divergent from other news sources. Other significant reason
behind its credibility is that many people find in-depth information about news or reports that
relates to structural relations of society or those information’s which uncover relationship
powers of society that are offered with data along with context. This media offers those
pieces of data that may not be linked with each other or are published to fill the space only. It
also helps in gathering criticisms of public as journalists get themselves engaged with
discriminated groups where they either stand with them or fight against them which makes
their materials more credible. In other words, journalists of traditional media are focussed
more upon maintaining authority and power to fulfil their core objective of finding accurate
materials for their reports (Speakman, 2011).
Traditional media are undoubtedly declining in readership where newspapers no
longer limit putting information in hard copies only. Internet has changed the ways of news
delivery where traditional media reports have become blurred through television and online
media. Struggling of traditional media is apparent given that unlimited contents are available
online. However, traditional outlets are still recognised as authoritative source whereas online
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media acts as an entertainment factor where series of opinions and expressions are collected
rather than reliable facts (Turner, 2015).
In spite of increasing threats and risks facing traditional media, the research field validates
that journalistic reports offers a variety of prospects based on social, economic and
technological developments through innovation. For both professionals and citizen
journalists, the augmentation of sophisticated mobile phones for sharing news information
has brought in new possibilities that can enable reporters gather information from distant
locations by empowering subjugated groups. The traditional media journalistic reports
contain material of entities that employs journalists with magazines, newspapers, and news
stations broadcasts (Hayes, et al., 2007). The reports prepared by individual reporter deals
with primary and secondary data of public in large as a part of traditional media organisation
and not as an individual. Although ethical stance can be seen here from individual
authenticity but, the traditional media provides them with mainstream media outlet. The
degree of information credibility succeeds with the reputation of the media companies where
journalists may come up under public attention. The brand of traditional media is also an
important factor that succeeds in getting credible reputation in public image. The information
provided in journalistic reports is associated with authenticity in other ways also where
emphasis is given on accountability for gathered information. Accountability can also be
associated with transparency to offer avenue to the credible sources and creating mutual trust
among media environment. At the end, it can be said that personal disclosure along with
evidentiary supports gives much credibility to traditional media journalistic reports (Hayes, et
al., 2007).
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References
Cassidy, W. P., 2007. Online News Credibility: An Examination of the Perceptions of Newspaper
Journalists. [Online]
Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00334.x
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
Chung, C. J., Nam, Y. & Stefanone, M. A., 2012. Exploring Online News Credibility: The Relative
Influence of Traditional and Technological Factors. [Online]
Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01565.x
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
Hayes, A. S., Singer, J. B. & Ceppos, J., 2007. SHIFTING ROLES, ENDURING VALUES: The CREDIBLE
JOURNALIST in a DIGITAL AGE. [Online]
Available at: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/3459/6/2007RolesValuesJMMESinger.pdf
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
Kovačič, M. P., Erjavec, K. & Štular, K., 2009. Credibility of Traditional vs. Online News Media: A
Historical Change in Journalists’ Perceptions?. [Online]
Available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/88479
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
Speakman, B., 2011. PRINT vs. ONLINE JOURNALISM: ARE BELIEVABILITY AND ACCURACY AFFECTED
BY WHERE READERS FIND INFORMATION?. [Online]
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1022&context=journalismdiss
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
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Tanta, I., Selmic, S. B. & Levak, T., 2017. The Level of Credibility of Traditional and New Media in
Reporting on Human Rights Issues. [Online]
Available at: http://www.collantropol.hr/antropo/article/viewFile/1586/1525
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
Turner, S. S. a. G., 2015. Why Traditional Media Still Matters. [Online]
Available at: http://frank.jou.ufl.edu/2015/01/why-traditional-media-still-matters/
[Accessed 17 05 2018].
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