Early news coverage in the US about the COVID-19 pandemic focused on information released from local, state and federal government officials. With an emphasis on US government at these levels, this study examined whether the public’s credibility perceptions and trust in government, along with message exposure, influenced their adherence to information from the government about (a) stay-at-home orders, (b) social distancing and (c) COVID-19 testing. Source credibility theory and situational crisis communication theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Through the survey data analysis, we investigated communication preferences in the wake of the pandemic and whether credibility perceptions differed according to the level of government. Survey findings revealed that message exposure influenced respondents’ perceived credibility of and trust in government officials during and after the stay-at-home order. Finally, practical implications regarding recommended communication strategies based on the findings were discussed.

Surveys of student editors, faculty advisers and academic affairs administrators of journalism and mass communication programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism in Mass Communication suggest that influences at the organizational level do have an impact on the content of student newspapers. The findings show that student editors were more likely to self-censor content when they did not have primary control of the newspapers. Significant differences were found to exist between the perceptions of student editors, faculty advisers, and academic affairs administrators in relation to influences on content and their relationship to censorship issues. Student editors were the only group who reported perceiving censorship as a problem. However, the survey results also showed that most public institutions had official governing rules and were not experiencing censorship issues.

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