In the current public sphere, the “deliberative model of democracy” may represent both the necessary benchmark and the best lens through which to view developments in the public debate. Democracy can never become really deliberative without the active participation of news media. The assumption of this article is that if news media are to disseminate knowledge, trust in them is crucial. This article examines an aspect neglected by studies on media trust: trust in journalists. It presents the results of a longitudinal survey carried out in May and September 2020 in Italy, right at the end of the first mass Covid‐19 lockdown (Wave 1) and after the first pandemic summer (Wave 2), therefore a time when there was a great need for quality information. The main findings reveal that the use of social media decreases trust in journalists; furthermore, those who mainly rely on political institutions’ social media accounts for information place less trust in journalists than those who mainly rely on journalistic sources on those platforms. Instead, the use of traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) increases trust in journalists.

A Deliberative Democracy Framework for Analysing Trust in Journalists: An Application to Italy / S. Splendore, D. Garusi, A. Valeriani. - In: MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION. - ISSN 2183-2439. - 12:(2024), pp. 7251.1-7251.19. [10.17645/mac.7251]

A Deliberative Democracy Framework for Analysing Trust in Journalists: An Application to Italy

S. Splendore
Primo
;
D. Garusi
Penultimo
;
2024

Abstract

In the current public sphere, the “deliberative model of democracy” may represent both the necessary benchmark and the best lens through which to view developments in the public debate. Democracy can never become really deliberative without the active participation of news media. The assumption of this article is that if news media are to disseminate knowledge, trust in them is crucial. This article examines an aspect neglected by studies on media trust: trust in journalists. It presents the results of a longitudinal survey carried out in May and September 2020 in Italy, right at the end of the first mass Covid‐19 lockdown (Wave 1) and after the first pandemic summer (Wave 2), therefore a time when there was a great need for quality information. The main findings reveal that the use of social media decreases trust in journalists; furthermore, those who mainly rely on political institutions’ social media accounts for information place less trust in journalists than those who mainly rely on journalistic sources on those platforms. Instead, the use of traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) increases trust in journalists.
deliberative democracy; information crisis; media trust; news consumption; trust in journalists;
Settore SPS/08 - Sociologia dei Processi Culturali e Comunicativi
   Critical Exploration of Media Related Risks and Opportunities for Deliberative Communication: Development Scenarios of the European Media Landscape
   MEDIADELCOM
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   101004811

   I-POLHYS Investigating POLarization in HYbrid media Systems (I-POLHYS)
   I-POLHYS
   MINISTERO DELL'ISTRUZIONE E DEL MERITO
   20175HFEB3_005
2024
15-gen-2024
Article (author)
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/1040114
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