THE
CORRESPONDENT,
THE COMIC, AND
THE COMBATANT:
HOW MODERATOR
STYLE AND GUEST
CIVILITY SHAPE NEWS
CREDIBILITY
By Emily K. Vraga, Mitchell Bard,
Leticia Bode, D. Jasun Carr, Stephanie
Edgerly, Courtney Johnson, Young Mie
Kim, & Dhavan V. Shah
INTRODUCTION

The way Americans get their news is changing
Success of political humor shows like The Daily Show
 Success of aggressive talk shows like The O’Reilly
Factor


Previous research has focused on effects of videomalaise on trust and perceptions
Incivility (Mutz & Reeves, 2005; Cho et al., 2009)
 Combative television (Forgette & Morris, 2006)
 Political humor (Baumgartner & Morris, 2006; Tsfati et al., 2009)

But how do shifts in moderator role affect this
relationship?
 Does moderator style interact with guest tone?

MODERATOR STYLE
Moderators organize discussion and promote
high-quality exchange (Janssen & Keis, 2005)
 Moderator-As-Correspondent


Journalists as “fair-minded moderators” (Ettema, 2007)


Moderator-As-Combatant

Journalists as a check on the powerful (Schudson, 1994)


Ensure guests given equal time, pose critical questions, and
reiterate key positions
But “attack dog” style may be detrimental (Tannen, 1998)
Moderator-As-Comic


Self-effacing humor boosts credibility and likeability
(Lyttle, 2001) and defuses tension (Miron et al. 2008)
But comedic talk shows may also lessen media trust
(Baumgartner & Morris, 2006)
GUEST TONE

Recent boom in high drama political talk shows


But these shows can turn nasty, including personal
attack (Forgette & Morris, 2006)
Research suggests televised incivility decreases
trust in politicians & political institutions (Mutz &
Reeves, 2005; Cho et al., 2009)
Incivility also heightens arousal and
entertainment of a show (Mutz & Reeves, 2005; Mutz, 2007)
 But outlets containing contentious programs –
like Fox, CNN, and MSNBC – are among the
most trusted in America (Public Policy Polling 2010)

EFFECTS ON MEDIA CREDIBILITY

Effects of modality understudied with increasing
blending of hard and soft news (Baym, 2010)

Despite decades of concern about media credibility
(Gaziano, 1988; Tsfati & Cappella, 2003)

Credibility remains multi-dimensional concept
(Meyer, 1988; Fico et al., 2004)
Perceptions of media credibility driven by on-air
personalities for TV news (Newhagen & Nass, 1989)
 Thus, the behavior of a moderator and the guests
on a political talk show should have a large
impact on ratings of media credibility

HYPOTHESES: MODERATOR ROLE
H1: A correspondent will lead to higher ratings of
a) moderator credibility, b) program credibility, c)
change in media trust, d) program informational
value and lower ratings of e) entertainment value
compared to both the combatant and comic.
 H2: A comic will lead to higher ratings of a)
moderator credibility, b) program credibility, and
c) change in media trust, compared to a
combatant.
 RQ1: Does the comic lead to higher perceptions of
program a) informational value and b)
entertainment value compared to a combatant?

HYPOTHESES: GUEST TONE
H3: Uncivil guests will lead to higher ratings of
a) moderator credibility and b) program
entertainment value but lower ratings of c)
program credibility and d) change in media trust
compared to civil guests.
 RQ2: How will uncivil guests affect ratings of
program informational value compared to civil
guests?
 H4: The effects of moderator style will be
conditioned by the tone of the guests, such that we
will see larger depending on moderator style when
guests are civil compared to when they are
uncivil.

METHOD

Simulated political talk show



Professional actors: Moderator with two guests
Professional director & experienced producer
Discussion of proposed governmental policy of capand-trade
3 (Moderator style: Correspondent, Comic,
Combatant) x 2 (Guest Tone: Civil, Uncivil)
 Measures

Moderator credibility
 Program credibility (Meyer, 1988; Fico et al., 2004)
 Change in media trust
 Program informational value & entertainment value

(Mutz & Reeves, 2005)
RESULTS: MODERATOR STYLE
RESULTS: GUEST TONE
RESULTS: INTERACTION
SUMMARY OF RESULTS

The correspondent performs best in terms of
program and media credibility

But does not hurt entertainment value
The combatant is the least credible
 The comic mitigates some of the negative effects
of aggression – but never outperforms the
correspondent
 Guest tone has no impact on ratings of program
or media credibility
 Nor does guest tone interact with moderator style


Compartmentalized judgments?
TESTING ALTERNATIVE
EXPLANATIONS

Moderator style did not affect ratings of attention
to the program

People did not report paying more attention to the
combatant or the comic
Correspondent also produces greatest intentions
to watch program in the future
 Guest tone also not related to trust in the
political system

Does not replicate Mutz & Reeves (2005)
 Guests not politicians but pundits?
 Again – judgments compartmentalized

IMPLICATIONS

Correspondent follows deliberative ideal
Neutral, truth-seeking, balanced
 This style best matches viewers’ expectations

A correspondent can sustain perceptions of media
credibility without hurting ratings
 Media credibility driven by moderator style

Not conditioned by guest tone
 Audience able to distinguish the source of incivility


Incivility’s lost entertainment value?
Previously, incivility entertaining and arousing
 Audience desensitization?
