Political communication literature reveals an ongoing scholarly interest in issues surrounding the credibility of news media. Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, many consumers continue to believe U.S. news media have a political bias and, therefore, are not to be trusted. This study seeks to explain media trust using a new theoretical model. The findings, based on national survey data, suggest that political ideology and partisanship, trust in government and fellow citizens, and one’s view of the economy influence the degree to which audience members trust the news media.

Using a survey of more than 5,000 American consumers, this study examines connections between attitudes toward same-sex marriage and media consumption. A positive attitude is predicted by being liberal and less religious, supporting gender and racial equality, willing to try anything once, considering television the primary form of entertainment, watching political talk shows, and reading blogs. The theoretical and methodological contributions and real-world implications of these findings are discussed.

Relatively little research has investigated the association of information sources and the stereotyping of homosexuals in other cultures. This study is a survey of 226 Chinese college students about their stereotypes of homosexuals and their sources of information on gays and lesbians. The stereotyping of homosexuals is predicted by the size of community, interest in knowing homosexuals, and in-person contacts. A higher level of negative stereotypes is associated with frequent usage of Chinese media.

Trust dynamics are known to impact an individual's compliance with information from different sources and their behaviors. It is helpful to explore the roles of trust in different entities in predicting people's behavioral intentions and behaviors in a mega‐crisis. With the initial stage of a public health crisis in China as its context, this study extends the Theory of Planned Behavior by incorporating trust in four key entities: the government, scientists, healthcare providers, and others. Results show that trust in the government is a significant and positive predictor of an individual's self‐care and social distancing behaviors. However, trust in scientists, healthcare providers and interpersonal trust do not affect such behaviors. This retrospective analysis enables a more panoramic reflection on the impact of trust on public behavior in the face of a crisis, offering valuable insights for the management of similar crises in the future.

This study analyzed a large national survey, the 2016 version of American National Election Study (ANES), to identify the predictors of attitudes toward the equal rights of lesbians, gay men, and transgender individuals. Egalitarian attitudes are associated with being female, younger, more liberal, less Republican, having a higher income and a lower level of fundamentalist religiosity, as well as consuming a wider variety of news media. Liberals tend to consume a larger number of news sources than conservatives. Also, news media diet mediates, instead of moderates, the effects of political ideology on support for the LGT community. Overall, a healthy diet of news media is associated with support for equality rights.

The qualities of a good leader are frequently aligned with traditional gender norms: men are viewed as aggressive and competitive and are considered ‘natural’ leaders, while women are viewed as submissive and nurturing – qualities seen as antithetical to good leadership. The news media help shape public understanding of leadership through reporting, and to understand better the relationship between gender norms and leadership, this qualitative study examined journalists’ perspectives on leadership in Vietnam, a country where women have played a role in building the country’s financial stability but not necessarily benefitted from the country’s economic progress. In-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen Vietnamese journalists (eight women and eight men) to explore their perspectives on women’s roles as leaders in their home countries. Researchers learned that journalists have internalized traditional gender scripts. They acknowledge that women can be good leaders, but they question whether women should devote time and energy to work that takes them away from their families. Journalists say that, irrespective of whether women take on leadership roles, they must put family first; however, men are not held to the same standard. Research suggests that journalists see gender roles as fixed and men as the most suited for leadership roles.