No abstract

This study examines how different ways of presenting information about the ecological threats stemming from the use of disposable plastics may affect people’s willingness to reduce their use. To test our hypotheses, we used a 2 × 3 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, utilizing a sample of 1001 Hong Kong residents. The independent variables tested included: (a) message frame (gain vs. loss), (b) modality (text vs. image vs. infographic), and (c) information source (government vs. non-governmental organization). The findings demonstrate that the loss frame was more effective than the gain frame in persuading participants to reduce the use of disposable plastics. Furthermore, compared to image-based messages, text-based and infographic-based messages were more effective in promoting the reduction in the use of disposable plastics. For information sources, however, we found no main effect on behavioral intentions. However, this study still suggests an interaction effect of the loss frame and NGO source, as well as the interaction between text-based modality and government source, both leading to more positive outcomes. Furthermore, the study reveals that negative emotional responses mediate the effect of media frames on behavioral intentions. The findings offer useful insights for designing more effective communication campaigns aimed at curbing the use of disposable plastics.

His research interests include comparative media representation of socio-cultural phenomena, health communication, and citizen journalism.

This study intends to contribute to the comprehension of how news values compare between Citizen Journalism and mainstream news outlets, thus contributing to the debate on the legitimacy of Citizen Journalism as news.

Scholars have been debating the credibility of citizen journalism, with some arguing that it is a legitimate news source and others arguing that it should only be considered user-generated content (UGC). This study seeks to determine whether citizen media should be considered news.This study revisits the relationship tested by Tse and Spiezio (2021) that uses content analysis of 400 news headlines from Taiwanese citizen media outlet Peopo and local media outlet Public Television Service to compare the news values. The findings indicated that citizen media in Taiwan pay different attention to news values than mainstream media. The differences in news values between the two media agencies suggested that citizen media in Taiwan cannot be considered news. However, citizen media has its own unique values, including more stories featuring Common Man, and provides more Good News than the mainstream media. The function of citizen media in Taiwan is seen as complementary to the mainstream media.