Unpacking news consumption and trust decisions through a folk theory approach: A study of Austrian young adults

Abstract

This article introduces and applies a situational, interactional, and processual theoretical framework to explore how folk theories of journalism shape people’s news use and trust decisions in specific, real-life circumstances. Following the “episode method”, 48 semi-structured interviews conducted with Austrian young adults revealed that objectivity and impartiality are regarded as the two cornerstones of journalism, aligning with Austria’s traditional journalistic culture. Thus, for Austrian young adults, informing oneself is a search for the ultimate truth. Whether objectivity and impartiality are thought to be actually found in journalism shapes (dis)engagement with it. Different news consumption and trust decisions emerged from interviewees who believe that journalists manage to be impartial and objective versus ones believing that journalists cannot or do not want to. Whereas the former recalled using and trusting information sources that they regarded as reputable, the situation is more nuanced for the latter. They showcased trust decisions ranging from reliance on external information sources to reliance on oneself to discern the truth. Those findings suggest that despite the emergence of new forms of journalistic actors and work, traditional journalistic values and norms remain central in audiences’ news use and trust decisions.