Wolfgang Donsbach

Psychology of News Decisions: Factors behind Journalists’ Professional Behavior

This article is about causal explanations for the way journalists report the news. In its first part, the article reviews traditional and current models or theories of journalists’ news decisions, concentrating on news factors, institutional objectives, the manipulative power of public relations by news sources and the subjective beliefs of journalists. It comes to the conclusion that most of these approaches do not explain the underlying processes leading to news judgements. Starting from these shortcomings and from the assumption that most of journalists’ work is about perceptions, conclusions and judgements, it then attempts to apply psychological theories to news decision-making. The author holds that two general needs or functions involving specific psychological processes can explain news decisions: a need for social validation of perceptions and a need to preserve one’s existing predispositions. Empirical data from several surveys and studies among journalists are used to demonstrate the appropriateness of this approach to journalists’ behavior.

How do text‐picture relations affect the informational effectiveness of television newscasts?

The following study investigates the influence of text‐picture relations on the communication of information by television news. Specifically, it is aimed at comparing the effects of so‐called standard pictures (i.e., the routine pictures footage of events that is constantly used in news bulletins) with pictures that actually match and illustrate the news text itself. The effect of text‐picture relations was studied in an experiment employing 100 subjects and manipulating four forms of pictorial accompaniment to news messages. The results show that standard pictures, which suggest authenticity and actuality but do not correspond to the information in the text, do not facilitate retention of news content. The paper therefore not only confirms that pictures can enhance retention of news information, but appears to define the conditions under which they do so.

Journalism as the new knowledge profession and consequences for journalism education

The article starts with observations about an increasing marginalization of professional journalism in public communication. This development is mainly driven by two factors, decreasing interest in the public sphere and increasing selective exposure. Based on these observations, the author develops a definition of the core societal functions of journalism, that is, validation and shared reality. Assigning to professional journalism the role of the ‘new knowledge profession’ he looks for areas of competence that would need to be taught in academic programs to furnish the profession with the necessary skills and make journalism a ‘de facto profession’. Finally, he discusses constraints on such a strategy in educational philosophies, the trade, and the changing demand of professional news.

Chances and Effects of Authenticity Candidates of the German Federal Election in TV News

Is “sound bite democracy” only a U.S. phenomenon? And how do different forms of a candidate’s appearance in television news affect his or her perception by the viewer? These are the major research questions we pursued using a large-scale content analysis of German television news coverage of the 1998 general election. The results show that German candidates still have a substantial opportunity on television news to speak to the people in their own words. The results also indicate that the degree of authenticity has a strong effect on the perception of the candidate by the television viewer. Pictures convey a better impression than just verbal news about the candidate, and original sound bites with pictures leave a better impression than pictures with just the voice-over. Results are discussed in light of the different media cultures in the United States and Germany and of the shifting balance of power between politicians and journalists.

The Dissonant Self: Contributions from Dissonance Theory to a New Agenda for Studying Political Communication

Due to technological changes in today’s communication environments, the investigation of media use and media effects has become an ever more complex research venture. In order to adequately comprehend the social practices of media users in the age of the Internet, various scholars have recently recommended a new agenda for the future study of political communication. Based on these suggestions, the following paper briefly outlines two research strands of political communication—political polarization and political demobilization—which are currently the focus of significant attention and scientific dispute. In reference to cognitive dissonance theory, we propose one possible strategy for media research to determine future developments of political communication in both research domains by observing citizens’ motivational changes in their exposure to political information.

Die zweite Realität

In den modernen Industriegesellschaften spielen die Medien eine immer bedeutendere Rolle bei der Vermittlung von Realitat. Nur ein Bruchteil der Informationen uber politisch relevante Ereignisse und Sachverhalte wird von den Burgern direkt erlebt bzw. aufgenommen. Daraus ergibt sich zwangslaufig die Frage, wie gut die Massenmedien in der Lage sind, Realitat zu beschreiben bzw. abzubilden. Eine Vielzahl von Ansatzen und Studien in der Publizistikwissenschaft beschaftigt sich mit diesem Problem. Die Studien finden in der Regel erhebliche Abweichungen zwischen Medienrealitat und direkt erlebter bzw. durch Indikatoren gemessener Realitat (vgl. fur einen Uberblick uber den Literaturstand Kepplinger, 1989a; Donsbach, 1990).

Journalismusforschung im internationalen Vergleich: Werden die professionellen Kulturen eingeebnet?

Es ist eine grundsatzliche Forschungsfrage der Sozialwissenschaften, inwieweit menschliches Verhalten immer wieder einzigartig ist oder eher allgemeinen Gesetzen folgt, also sich wiederholt und voraussagen lasst. Das ist in der Psychologie nicht anders als in der Kommunikationswissenschaft, beim sozialen Verhalten von Personen in emotionalen Stress-Situationen nicht anders als bei der Nachrichtenauswahl von Journalisten: Wir wollen wissen, welcher Anteil der beobachteten sozialen Tatsachen sich in allgemeine Gesetze packen lasst.

Prävention aus Bevölkerungssicht — Einstellungen und Wege zu ihrer Veränderung

Um zu klaren, auf welche Voraussetzungen die Kampagne „Bewegung und Gesundheit“ des Bundesgesundheitsministeriums stosen wurde und um Effekte dieser Kampagne zu messen, wurde eine mehrwellige Befragung unter der erwachsenen deutschsprachigen Wohnbevolkerung durchgefuhrt. Nach den Ergebnissen dieser Befragung ist Pravention ein Thema, das viel Unterstutzung findet und positiv besetzt ist. Die personliche Verantwortung fur die eigene Gesundheit ist ein haufiges Thema in den Medien und hat sich daher im Bewusstsein fast der gesamten Bevolkerung niedergeschlagen. Daher erreichen unterschiedliche Moglichkeiten zur Gesundheitsvorsorge auch bereits hohe Bekanntheitsgrade. Gleichwohl konnen viele Burger mit dem Begriff „Pravention“ wenig anfangen.

Nothing Is As Practical As a Good Theory What Communication Research Can Offer to the Practice of Political Communication

The demands brought on public relations (PR) by management can only be met by more evidence-based procedures. Of course, single and subjective experiences are also a form of “evidence” but they are of a different kind and of a different quality because they often are not measurable, not quantifiable, and not repeatable. Thus, they are nontheoretical in a sense as described above. This article takes a look at what communication research can offer to PR practice. Three main services are discussed: (1) modeling the field and its variables, (2) providing methods for the measurement of PR effectiveness, and (3) measuring PR effectiveness and its quality.

The influences of changes in camera perspective on the perception of a speaker

SUMMARY When filming important events for TV, several cameras are often used. By this means, it is possible to present a continuous picture of what is happening from different camera perspectives. This leads to the question whether the lasting impression a viewer gains from films with shots from different perspectives is a mixture of current impressions, which convey the various perspectives (1), a result of the reference influence of the preceding perspectives (2), or identical with the impression of the last shot (3). An experiment with seven test films showing a politician, was used to test the hypotheses.