Features that affect the credibility of the announcer in television news stories

Abstract

           The objectives of this research were to study the opinions of TV viewers in the lower northeastern region of Thailand about (1) personality factors of TV newscasters that affect their credibility; (2) communication skills factors of TV newscasters that affect their credibility; (3) other supporting factors that affect the credibility of TV newscasters; and (4) to compare respondents’ demographic factors with their opinions on the factors that affect the credibility of TV newscasters.

          This was a survey research. The samples were 400 residents of the lower northeast region of Thailand, chosen through multi stage sampling. The research tool was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation,
t test and ANOVA.

              The results showed that (1) most respondents thought that the personality of TV newscasters strongly affected their credibility. (2) Most respondents thought that the communication skills of TV newscasters strongly affected their credibility. (3) Most respondents thought that the supporting factors strongly affected TV newscasters’ credibility. (4) There was a statistically significant relationship at 0.05 confidence level between the educational level of respondents and their opinions about factors that affect the credibility of TV newscasters. There was a highly statistically significant relationship at 0.01 confidence level between the age, educational level, and occupation of respondents and their opinions about factors that affect the credibility of TV newscasters.