People’s Trust in Media Coverage

Which would you prefer? A first-hand account of an event from a friend or media coverage of the event? In this way, Chaffee (1986) was concerned to know if people rely on interpersonal or mass channels of information. Chaffee considered that people are less concerned about the type of channel of information to use whether the channel is interpersonal, mass, or both; and their choice depends on the accessibility, and flow. Also, credibility affects people's choice of channel. Credibility is situational and can be modified in situations such as sending a person a message that is different from the one that person expected. Credibility is affected by the source (sender) expertise and the receiver's trustworthiness.

Do people prefer seeking information from mass media, interpersonal channels, or both? What are the factors that influence their decisions? How do people choose the channel to communicate through? Also, Chaffee mentioned that the channel has no influence on which media people choose, what are the factors that influence people's choices of the type of channel to use (mass media, interpersonal media, or both).

Then, Chaffee asked whether mass media and interpersonal channels are competitive, convergent, or complimentary. He mentioned that media can be either competitive, convergent, or complimentary depending on the sender’s or receiver’s point of view. Did mass personal communication substitute or bridge mass communication and personal communication. Mass personal communication did not replace but bridged mass and personal communication. O’Sullivan & Carr (2017) discussed the Mass-Personal Communication Model MPCM. MPCM links mass communication and interpersonal communication by using old and new technologies and combines two dimensions: perceived message accessibility, and message personalization.

This model emphasized that people are the choice to communicate does not depend on the channel whether it is mass, personal, or mass personal communication but upon people interaction goals. MPCM is classified into three quadrants: interpersonal communication, mass communication, and mass personal communication. Each quadrant has two dimensions; message accessibility, and message personalization. Also, O’Sullivan & Carr suggested the fourth quadrant, but it has not yet been implemented.

The fourth quadrant is related to private-impersonal messages such as having a conversation with a stranger on a train or using a billboard in a marriage proposal. How can mass personal communication bridge mass communication and personal communication? What are the factors that affect people's choices of which media to use whether it is mass, personal, or mass personal communication? Will the fourth suggested quadrant succeed in bridging mass and interpersonal communication.

And how can communication scholars use it to bridge mass and interpersonal communication? In both articles, the authors discussed that when people communicate they are not concerned about the type of channel whether mass, interpersonal, or mass personal but about other factors such as accessibility, flow, credibility, and people interaction goals. How will these factors be used to implement the suggested quadrant private-impersonal messages? And how will these factors help communication scholars in implementing new avenues from mass and interpersonal communication? 

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