360-degree journalism as a gateway to information seeking: The role of enjoyment and spatial presence

Ivanka PjesivacSun Joo (Grace) Ahn, Solyee Kim (former PhD student)Andrea Briscoe (current PhD student) (in press). “360-degree journalism as a gateway to information seeking: The role of enjoyment and spatial presence.” Journalism Practice. Advance online publication: DOI 10.1080/17512786.2022.2059545

Abstract: This study examined the impact of news modality (print news vs. 360° journalism) on psychological mechanisms of information seeking intention, as well as individual differences that moderate the observed outcomes. The results of a two condition between subjects experiment (N = 100) conducted on a community sample showed that news modality affected information seeking intentions, enjoyment of news story, and the feelings of spatial presence, but did not affect actual information seeking behavior and information recall. Exposure to 360° journalism led to the increase in spatial presence, which led to a linear increase in enjoyment, ultimately resulting in greater intentions to seek further information. Participants with a higher need for cognitive closure enjoyed consuming news more when the story was presented as 360° journalism than those with a lower need for cognitive closure. Results contribute to expanding the theories of information seeking and the role of affective responses and spatial presence on news consumption in journalism and communication scholarship.

Marketing a health brand on Facebook: Effects of reaction icons and user comments on brand attitude, trust, purchase intention, and eWOM intention

Abstract: This study examined effects of Facebook reaction icons and user comments on brand attitude, trust, information seeking, purchase intention, and eWOM intention towards a health brand, as well as potential moderating effects of SNS use. Results of a 3 (reaction icons: positive/neutral/negative) × 3 (valence of comments: positive/neutral/negative) between-subjects experiment (N = 306) indicated that positive Facebook reaction icons significantly influenced brand attitude, trust, purchase intention, and eWOM intention, while neutral comments significantly impacted brand attitude and trust. The degree of SNS use also negatively moderated between reaction icon valence and eWOM intention. Implications for health marketing communication are discussed.

Lee, Yen-I, Phua, Joe, & Wu, Tai-Yee (Forthcoming).