Dispersing the Opacity of Transparency in Journalism on the Appeal of Different Forms of Transparency to the General Public

Abstract

This study investigates the kinds of transparency that appeal to different parts of the public and the extent to which transparency can be a remedy for declining trust in journalism. It uses a representative survey of Swedes, and the results show that there are three distinct forms of transparency, including the previously unreported ambient transparency, and that they appeal to different people. News consumption or social media use has little or no effect on transparency. The strongest positive effect on transparency comes from appreciation of the current quality of journalistic performance, high trust in journalists and media, and having news media and authorities as the preferred channels of information. Those most skeptical about journalism are also least positive about transparency. The results suggest that transparency has very limited reach as a cure for declining trust in, and the trustworthiness of, journalism, possibly since the acts of transparency themselves remain non-transparent.

The Value of Explaining the Process: How Journalistic Transparency and Perceptions of News Media Importance Can (Sometimes) Foster Message Credibility and Engagement Intentions

“…In light of extant evidence that PNMI is strongly associated with news media credibility (Peifer, 2018b), it suggests that transparency may not be too successful among those most inclined to have little faith in the news media and generally skeptical of journalism's value. This echoes the findings of Karlsson (2020), who demonstrated a positive correlation between media trust and valuing disclosure transparency. Karlsson's study also highlighted how positive evaluations of actual journalistic performance correlate with valuing transparency.…”

“…When a transparency effect is evident, are we largely witnessing a case of "preaching to the converted"-in that transparency seems to have limited effectiveness among the audiences that journalism advocates seem most determined to reach with transparency initiatives? (see Karlsson, 2020, for a similar discussion) Perceptions of importance aside, this research effort is also sobering in that it further suggests that transparency's influence, in terms of engendering credibility, can be hit and miss. The transparency tool implemented was demonstrably successful only with one of the two story topics featured (i.e., the recycling story).…”

“…As Karlsson and Clerwall (2018) observed, "transparency was not on the [audience] agenda " (p. 1926). Notably, to the extent that transparency is valued by consumers, it is evident that different forms of transparency have contrasting appeals to different audiences, along the line audience traits and attitudes such as gender, education, media trust, and perceptions of journalistic performance (Karlsson, 2020).…”

“…That is, deliberations often turn to how journalists might reduce uncertainty and strengthen credibility by "showing the work" through transparencybased practices and indicators. Notably, research indicates that transparency-related features within and alongside news content can be effective for fostering perceptions of credibility (Chen et al, 2019;Curry & Stroud, 2019), but the effects appear modest and are inconsistent (Karlsson et al, 2014;Masullo et al, 2021;Tandoc & Thomas, 2017), suggesting that transparency's efficacy is not universal or straightforward (Craft & Heim, 2009;Haapanen, 2020;Karlsson, 2020).…”

Evaluación de la transparencia en el periodismo de datos de referencia

“…Pese a que diversos académicos atestiguan que la transparencia repercute en la confianza y ayuda a recuperar la credibilidad perdida (Weinberger, 2009;Singer, 2010;Philips, 2010;Vos & Craft, 2017;Anderson & Borges-Rey, 2019), otros consideran que su influencia como elemento regenerador es limitada (Karlsson, Clerwall & Nord, 2017;Anderson, 2018;Karlsson, 2020). A pesar de las discrepancias suscitadas, resulta plausible pensar que la transparencia contribuye eficazmente, y más en un contexto como el actual, a combatir la desinformación.…”