Gabi Schaap

TV no longer commands our full attention: Effects of second-screen viewing and task relevance on cognitive load and learning from news

Second-screen viewing-the use of smartphones, tablets, and laptops while watching television-has increased dramatically in the last few years. Using multiple resource theory and threaded cognition theory, this study investigated the effects of second-screen viewing on cognitive load, factual recall and comprehension of news. Second, we examined the effects of relevant (i.e., looking up information related to the news story) and irrelevant (i.e., looking up information unrelated to the story) second-screen viewing on learning from news. Results from an experiment (N=85) showed that second-screen viewing led to lower factual recall and comprehension of news content than single-screen viewing. These effects were mediated by cognitive load: second-screen viewing led to a higher cognitive load than single-screen viewing, with higher cognitive load, in turn, leading towards lower factual recall and comprehension of news content. Contrary to our expectations, we found no statistically significant differences between effects of relevant and irrelevant second-screen viewing.

Citizen Sources in the News: Above and Beyond the Vox Pop?

Both within journalism and academia it is argued that citizen voices should have a greater prominence in news to counterbalance the virtual monopoly of elite sources. This study extends previous studies – showing increased presence of citizens in news – by investigating relevant but unanswered questions, namely, (1) whether there has been a change in their prominence relative to elite and civil society sources and (2) in which capacity citizens have been present in the past two-and-a-half decades. Moreover, (3) citizens’ contribution to different story topics is explored. In this study, 1425 television news stories broadcast between 1990 and 2014 (N = 2413 sources) are analyzed. Results show that citizen sources became more prominent at the cost of elite sources. However, elite sources still remain the primary definers in news. Citizens do not get a more substantive, relevant voice as they are primarily used as vox pops, regardless of story topic.

Conceptualizing television news interpretation by its viewers: The concept of interpretive complexity

Abstract In recent years many scholars seem to agree that viewers’ interpretations play a prominent role in the influence of television news. However, a clear concept of ‘interpretation’ is still missing. This article proposes to conceptualize interpretation as the ‘representation’ of a news item as constructed and reported by a news viewer. More specifically, we look at this representation in terms of its complexity. Two aspects are important: first, the fundamental elements viewers use in their interpretation (differentiation), and second, how the viewer relates these elements to one another on a more abstract level (integration). Together, differentiation and integration represent the complexity of the viewer’s interpretation of a television news item. The article provides definitions of these concepts and argues that interpretive complexity can be useful in studying the influence of television news. It concludes by outlining research questions in the field of television news using interpretive complexity.

Second screening for news: Effects of presentation on information processing and program liking

Abstract This study investigated the effects of second screen presentation mode on information processing and program liking. In an experiment, 121 participants watched a television news program. One group was assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were required to actively look up additional information on a second screen (‘look-up condition’), while a second group were assigned to a dual screen condition in which participants were directly presented with the additional information on the second screen, with no looking-up required (‘presented information condition’). In a third condition, the single-screen condition, participants merely watched the news program. Results show that second screening negatively impacts factual recognition and program liking, regardless of presentation mode. While cued recall of information was lower in the second screen conditions than in the single screen condition, participants in the condition with presented information scored significantly higher on cued recall compared to the look-up condition. Analyses show the effects can be explained by the different levels of cognitive load elicited by different presentation modes.

Getting Youngsters Hooked on News: The effects of narrative news on information processing and appreciation in different age groups

Narrative news is often propagated as a means to inform and attract younger generations of news consumers. To test this, the current study assessed the effects of narrative structure versus inverted pyramid structure on information processing and news appreciation for Millennials, compared to Generation X, and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation. Participants were randomly exposed to either four online news articles written in a narrative structure or an inverted pyramid structure. Results show that people are better informed by narrative news. However, appreciation is lower for narrative news compared to the inverted pyramid. Moreover, the younger participants express lower appreciation, regardless of story structure. The results suggest that although the narrative structure is best at informing all audiences, it is not necessarily a viable strategy to attract younger news audiences.

Taking the full view: How viewers respond to 360-degree video news

Abstract Immersive storytelling technologies in journalism are thought to have the power to boost viewer responses to news in ways heretofore undreamed of. However, research is scarce. This study is the first to investigate what 360-degree camera video as a means for conveying news stories might add to traditional 2D video. A one-factorial between subjects experiment (N = 83) was conducted to investigate the effect of 360-degree news on presence, enjoyment, credibility, recognition, and understanding. The experimental group watched a news video in 360-degree format, whereas the control group viewed the same video in 2D. Results show that 360-degree video is evaluated higher in terms of presence, enjoyment, and credibility, while there are no negative effects of 360- degree video on recognition and understanding. The effects on enjoyment and credibility are mediated by presence. Although 360-degree journalism research is still in its infancy, the current study indicates that this form of news reporting has the potential to involve audiences as never before.