AUDIENCE PERCEPTIONS OF NEWS MEDIA ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: relations among media credibility, subjective well-being and fear of missing out

Abstract

This article pairs journalism studies and social psychology to investigate, with a quantitative method, audience perceptions of news media in the initial stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil by verifying the relations among media credibility, subjective well-being (SWB), and fear of missing out (FoMO). All told, 306 Brazilians took part in this study, answering a questionnaire to elicit demographic data, perceptions of media credibility, and behavioral characteristics. The findings revealed high averages of measures of news media credibility, with over 70% of respondents evaluating the work of the press as excellent or good. People with higher averages of negative affects tended to perceive the news media as more reliable. Furthermore, individuals who reported fear of missing out on the news during Covid-19 experienced more negative affect, and attributed greater credibility to news media. These findings show that in a time of fear and uncertainty, citizens seem to trust solid institutions more, accepting their reports less critically. We also found that unknown risks can attract attention more than regular events, tending to keep vigilance on specific news. Future studies can add additional measures of FoMO and use more diverse samples in different contexts.