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Category: Project

Description: User comments to digital news often contain media criticism, detrimentally affecting how others perceive the quality of news and possibly lowering media trust. It remains an open question, however, how journalistic reactions can mitigate these effects. Based on premises of engagement moderation, accountability, and transparency in digital journalism, we conducted an online experiment investigating how critical user comments and journalistic reactions affect quality perceptions and behavioral intentions towards a news media brand. Results show that media-critical comments lower perceived brand quality, but only among media cynics, whereby increasing it among media supporters. Journalists admitting mistakes only enhances perceived brand quality for media cynics, while denying does so for everyone and decreases cynics’ intention to comment negatively. Lastly, explaining why a mistake was made or not boosts brand quality perceptions overall, suggesting that transparency is a viable strategy for improving media trust in the long run.