Volume 38, Issue 2 -

Recently, the European Union decreed that European countries should use disclosures of brand placement in programs and movies on television to guarantee fair communication. However, an understanding of the effects of disclosing brand placement is lacking. The present study is the first to test the impact of the new TV sponsorship regulations regarding disclosure of brand placement. In an experiment ( N = 107), we examine viewers’ opinions about disclosures along with the effects of disclosure timings. Analyses show that brand memory increases when a disclosure is shown. In addition, brand memory is significantly higher when the disclosure is shown during the placement than when it is shown after the placement. Disclosures do not seem to activate critical attitudes. Respondents confronted with a disclosure, regardless of the timing, were not more skeptical towards brand placement than respondents who were not exposed to a disclosure. These findings have important implications for theory and public policy regarding brand placement disclosures.

Objective: To map the tone of local and global economic information transmitted in news and non-news TV programming during economic recovery, and to resolve a conflict in the literature between research where a negative trend in economic news was identified and studies which concluded that economic news reflects actual economic circumstances. Method: A content analysis of 140 hours of prime-time programming (news and non-news) aired by commercial networks and public broadcasting in Israel during one month. Results: Local news reflects fairly accurately current trends in the stock exchange while still maintaining a general tendency to employ a negative tone more frequently than a positive tone, even during economic recovery. Global economic news is more positive in tone than local economic news. References to the economy in the news are more positive and frequent than references to the economy in non-news programming. The tone of economic news in public broadcasting is more negative than the tone of economic news aired on commercial stations. Conclusions: The existence of a negative bias in economic news depends on the reported event. While News about the stock exchange is not biased, less concrete news is negatively biased.

This article extends the definition of sensationalism to print media by arguing that language intensifiers may be an aspect of sensationalism. In addition, this paper investigates if an indirect effect can be established by which sensationalistic message features influence news reception through the perception of sensationalism. Two between-subjects experiments show that sensationalistic message features like intensifiers increase perceived language intensity (PLI). In experiment 1, intensifiers had a negative effect on news article appreciation, which was not influenced by PLI. Experiment 2 revealed positive indirect effects of intensifiers through PLI on newsworthiness and news article appreciation.

The underlying psychological processes that enable framing effects are often described as cognitive. Yet, recent studies suggest that framing effects may also be mediated by emotional response. The role of specific emotions in mediating the framing effect process, however, has yet to be fully empirically investigated. In an experimental survey design ( n = 161), this study tests two positive (enthusiasm and contentment) and two negative emotions (anger and fear) as mediators of framing effects. Our results show that while anger and enthusiasm mediate a framing effect, contentment and fear do not. These findings deepen our understanding of which discrete emotions are relevant when studying mediated framing effects.

This paper deals with transcultural ethnic media, that is, ethnic media with at least two additional fundamental benefits: (1) They provide space for and aim at different ethnic communities and (2) connect them to the major society. Additionally, they include inter- and transcultural content and provide (semi-)professional journalism. Content analyses with particular focus on the conveyed values as well as the perception of such a magazine ‒ biber, published in Vienna, Austria ‒ by traditional print media reveal that in reporting on issues not covered by mainstream media, transcultural magazines promote counter-public spheres on the one hand. On the other hand, they offer the majority society insights into ethnic communities. Mainstream media report much more frequently about such a transcultural magazine than about ‘classic’ ethnic media, evaluate it positively and see it as an important contribution to the media landscape. Overall, transcultural media play an important role in gaining bridging social capital.