| Against the backdrop of declining public confidence in news media, this project explores the question of what could be contributing to increased skepticism toward the press and how the public's apparent reluctance to express trust in news media might be interpreted by scholars. In an effort to address this basic query, this research effort is designed to (a) advance an understanding of news media perceptions, and (b) consider news parody's role in influencing these perceptions.;More specifically, this study explores the influence of news parody---conceptualized as a form of media criticism---on varied forms of media trust. By its very nature, news parody (such as The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight) is understood to offer both explicit and implicit commentary about the news media industry and media personnel. In so doing, it is argued here that news parody serves to endorse the notion of the news media serving important functions in society, even as the press may fail to meet its obligations. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that perceptions of news media importance have a meaningful influence on aspects of media trust.;In an effort to better explore how parody-induced conceptions of news media importance may contribute to shaping perceptions of the industry's trustworthiness, this project first develops and validates a measure for gauging personal valuations of several normative news media functions, labeled here as Perceived News Media Importance (PNMI). It is expected that the explication and operationalization of the PNMI concept can serve as a tool for bringing greater clarity to patterns of public trust in the news media both within and beyond the scope of news parody. Employing survey data provided by a convenience sample (N=403) and a nationally representative sample ( N=510), a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicates that the theorized PNMI measurement model fits the data well. Moreover, the proposed 12-item scale also exhibits appropriate convergent (political interest and political participation) and discriminant (media trust; negative content media image; ideology) validity. Finally, while demonstrated to be distinct from media trust, PNMI is also shown to meaningfully predict media trust, above and beyond additional variables included a hierarchical multiple regression model.;Upon establishing the validity of the PNMI scale, the measure was employed in an experimental context. A two-wave survey (N=227) exposed participants to news parody stimuli, measuring both dimensions of general media trust and PNMI about one week before and immediately after the experimental treatment. The degree to which a given parody stimulus was like-minded and trust in specific news sources was also measured after news parody exposure. Results provide evidence of a process of conditional influence, wherein pro-attitudinal news parody promotes PNMI, which in turn can favorably influence aspects of media trust in specific news outlets.;Ultimately, these findings suggest that news parody commentary may be contributing to public perceptions of the news media in ways that, at times, enhance media trust. Exploration of PNMI's influence on media trust sheds light on one way in which news parody may influence trust: by endorsing the importance of and respect for the core functions of the news media, news parody can serve to encourage individuals to place more trust in specific news media outlets. From a normative perspective, this highlights the value of news parody. Given that media trust is desirable, this study demonstrates that news parody commentary can benefit society by promoting the value of news media work. |
