The Impact of Communication Modality on Perceived Credibility of Panel Members

Abstract

The impact of communication modality on credibility is not yet fully understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of modality on the perception of news panel members. A political debate between four political analysts was presented in three different modalities, as television broadcast (TV condition), as radio broadcast (radio condition), or as magazine article (print condition). Participants evaluated panel members in terms of credibility. Findings indicate that in the TV condition, panel members were perceived as most credible, followed by the radio condition and the print condition. Statistical analyses show that the differences are significant between all three conditions. In addition, the authors found that the modality effect depends on the sources' personal characteristics. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.