The role of feedback in the assessment of news

摘要

The 25-year search for a compelling online news delivery system has been fraught with frustration. This study examines the problem by focusing on how mass media audiences and online users differ in their assessment of news. It employed a two-wave national survey (N=1335) to study the perception of interactivity in mass media and computer networks, and its relationship to the assessment of news. The first wave looked at a national probability sample, while the second wave targeted viewers of NBC Nightly News who responded to the show via e-mail. NBC respondents rated mass media to be less interactive, while they rated computer communication more interactive than the national sample. The NBC group also rated mass media news less important and of lower quality than did the national sample. Interactivity ratings did not predict mass media credibility assessments for either group. However, respondents who defined interactivity as cybernetic feedback or who contacted NBC by e-mail rated computer communication to be more credible than those who did not. Caution is suggested in attempting to design online news filters solely to replicate the editorial news selection process employed by mass media. Based on the evidence that users assess news differently in an interactive media system than in a mass media system, more design emphasis on feedback is encouraged.