We're number one: Manipulating perceived market rankings to induce a placebo effect in credibility evaluations of a local newscast

Abstract

Because newscasts have evolved into a lucrative profit center for many local television stations, broadcasters desperately seek ways to boost the perceived credibility of their news brands. Audience perceptions, however, are sometimes vulnerable to forces that have little connection to objective reality. In particular, there is growing evidence that expected outcomes can circumvent critical thinking and alter audience evaluations of program content. In this controlled experiment, a type of placebo effect was revealed whereby audiences that were told that a particular newscast was ranked “number one” gave the program better overall credibility evaluations than equivalent test audiences who were told that the identical program was ranked last in its market. Implications for the management and marketing of television news are discussed.