Two Forms of Media Distrust: Cynicism, Skepticism, and Online News Exposure

IF 4.9 1区文学 Q1 COMMUNICATION

Communication Research Pub Date : 2026-06-10 DOI:10.1177/00936502261458955

Lukas P. Otto, Frank Mangold, Michaela Maier

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The relationship between trust in the news media and news use has been studied extensively, yet findings remain inconsistent. We argue that a key source of this inconsistency is the conflation of two distinct forms of media distrust: skepticism and cynicism. Additionally, prior research largely relies on self-reported news use, which is prone to bias. To address both issues, we link survey data with web-tracking data from 739 participants during the 2021 German federal election. We show that skeptics and cynics differ in personality traits, political orientations, and news-use motivations, and – crucially – in their actual news consumption behavior. While skepticism is associated with broader and more intense news exposure, cynicism is linked to lower exposure, particularly to established journalistic mainstream media. These results demonstrate that different forms of media distrust are associated with distinct patterns of news exposure, underscoring the importance of conceptual and behavioral precision in media trust research.

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媒体不信任的两种形式：犬儒主义、怀疑主义和在线新闻曝光

新闻媒体信任与新闻使用之间的关系已被广泛研究，但研究结果仍不一致。我们认为，这种不一致的一个关键来源是两种不同形式的媒体不信任的合并：怀疑主义和犬儒主义。此外，之前的研究很大程度上依赖于自我报告的新闻使用情况，这很容易产生偏见。为了解决这两个问题，我们将调查数据与2021年德国联邦选举期间739名参与者的网络跟踪数据联系起来。我们发现怀疑论者和愤世嫉俗者在性格特征、政治倾向、新闻使用动机，以及——至关重要的——他们实际的新闻消费行为方面存在差异。怀疑主义与更广泛、更强烈的新闻曝光有关，而玩世不恭则与曝光率较低有关，特别是与已建立的新闻主流媒体有关。这些结果表明，不同形式的媒体不信任与不同的新闻曝光模式相关，强调了媒体信任研究中概念和行为精确性的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Communication Research COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

17.10

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Empirical research in communication began in the 20th century, and there are more researchers pursuing answers to communication questions today than at any other time. The editorial goal of Communication Research is to offer a special opportunity for reflection and change in the new millennium. To qualify for publication, research should, first, be explicitly tied to some form of communication; second, be theoretically driven with results that inform theory; third, use the most rigorous empirical methods; and fourth, be directly linked to the most important problems and issues facing humankind. Critieria do not privilege any particular context; indeed, we believe that the key problems facing humankind occur in close relationships, groups, organiations, and cultures.