INFLUENCE OF SOURCE CREDIBILITY ON READERS ACCEPTANCE AND RESONANCE TO NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHS OF CRISIS

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Bromme, Kienhues, and Porsch (2010) distinguish between first- and second-hand evaluation of a message provided by a source in a newspaper. A message may be validated by recourse to the message content. For instance, a reader may assess the certainty of a message by applying comprehension monitoring criteria such as the consistency of the message content with the reader’s own knowledge, or by checking the internal consistency between propositions within the message (Baker, 1985; Helder, Van Leijenhorst, & van den Broek, 2016; Singer, 2013). However, in other instances there can be second-hand evaluation: the validation process may be done by recourse to messenger characteristics such as source credibility. A study by Bromme, Thomm, and Wolf (2015) highlights the importance of the latter approach when processing difficult scientific information. In their study, conflicting knowledge claims regarding a medical issue were presented to laypersons and intermediate experts in medicine. Both groups of participants were asked to summarise the controversy and then interviewed about how they perceive, explain, and handle conflicts in this kind of information. The study showed that both groups resolved more frequently competing medical knowledge claims by considering messenger characteristics such as features of the source of information, than by directly assessing the claims in terms of the participant’s own knowledge or by examining scientific evidence. Many other studies have shown how the public considers the credibility of sources in order to obtain socially relevant scientific and technological information (particularly from the Web, as described below). For instance, Jungermann, Pfister, and Fischer (1996) used a survey to assess people’s perceptions on technical risks and the credibility of several sources of information about these risks. One of the results of the study showed marked differences among the perceived credibility of different sources regarding chemical risks. The respondents, judging their knowledge on the risks of a chemical plant operation to be low, preferred to be informed about these risks by a source such as environmentalist groups, than by the plant or even by disaster control authorities. Therefore, once again, source credibility reveals itself as a crucial factor in the incorporation of scientific or technical information by non-specialists. A newsworthy photo travels quickly across the internet, contextualized by the online platform in which it appears and the source authorship of the image. In this example, a professional journalistic photo traveled from a traditional news medium to an official Instagram account, and from there dispersed more widely via an nonprofessional sharer. The modern cascade of imagery includes both professional and amateur-authored visuals, and viewers may encounter either category of news image on a professional news website or on a social media platform. Ultimately, a photograph’s source, authorship and presentational context can quickly become less clear to audiences (Sundar & Nass, 2001). And while studies have examined the impact of source and author on sharing intentions and credibility perceptions, few have considered how audiences evaluate the intertwinedness of presentational and authorship variables specifically pertaining to credibility perceptions of news visuals especially on crisis cases. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The source, medium, and presentational context of news has been shown to affect credibility perceptions and the subjective judgment by viewers about trustworthiness in traditional media (Tseng & Fogg, 1999). Medium credibility refers to the perceived level of credibility a specific medium that individuals used (Newhagen & Nass, 1989; Sundar & Nass, 2001), while source credibility rates the authors who provided the information, focusing on the expertise or trustworthiness of the source and the likelihood they will provide credible information (Armstrong & Nelson, 2005; Flanagin & Metzger, 2003; Hovland et al., 1953). Thus, misunderstood photo sources and medium-of-origin will likely affect perceptions of the credibility of the photos. A better understanding of the interplay of factors that make an audience perceive an image as more or less credible could ultimately help news organizations better optimize their role in the important task of showing the public what is true especially during crisis, war or conflict between two different parties. As it is the job of a photo journalists to be neutral and avoid fakery that can escalate the conflict. It is behind this statement the researcher wants to evaluate the influence of source credibility on readers acceptance and resonance to newspaper photographs of crisis. 1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The general objective of this study is to examine the influence of source credibility on readers acceptance and resonance to newspaper photographs of crisis. While the major objectives of this study are to: 1. Examine the relevance of source credibility to the practice of photo journalism. 2. Find out how source credibility of pictures during crisis can manage conflicts. 3. Evaluate the impact source credibility have on readers acceptance and resonance to newspaper photographs of crisis. 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What is the relevance of source credibility to the practice of photo journalism? 2. How can source credibility of pictures during crisis be used as conflict management? 3. What impact does source credibility have on readers acceptance and resonance to newspaper photographs of crisis? 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY This study will be relevant to different sector and people. They are; media students, photo journalists, academic field of study, further and future research, government policy makers, media, government and others. 1.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study focuses on the influence of source credibility on readers acceptance and resonance to newspaper photographs of crisis. This study will also focus on media students in Moshood Abiola Polytechnic as well as journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State. 1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS For proper clarifications key concepts related to this study, the following terms shall be operational defined; 1. Source: A news source is a person, organization, or thing that provides information to journalists about a recent event or situation. News sources are important because journalists can’t be everywhere to witness every event, and they may lack expertise in certain areas. 2. Credibility: Credibility comprises the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message. 3. Source credibility: Source credibility is “a term commonly used to imply a communicator’s positive characteristics that affect the receiver’s acceptance of a message. 4. Photo journalism: Photojournalism can be defined as the process of using photographs to tell a story. Whereas conventional journalists will share their information by employing pen and paper, photojournalists use a camera as their medium. 5. Crisis: Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning.