Animation in Environmental Journalism: Effects on News Perception and Information Seeking

ABSTRACT

An experiment with 413 US participants was conducted to examine the role of animation in environmental journalism. Results show that there was no consistent modality effect (live-action vs. animation) on news perception and information-seeking across environmental topics. Specifically, animation was favored in the communication of fracking. On climate change, concern for the issue moderates the modality’s effect on news perceptions, information-seeking. The findings contribute to the literature of effective visual environmental communication by incorporating the modality effects perspectives, while also offering practical advice on how to effectively use animation to promote audience trust, news enjoyment, information-seeking with various environmental issues.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ The original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7jpMG5DS4Q.

² The original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5_3sJoc9zk.

³ The original video: https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8061437/bill-gates-can-gmos-end-world-hunger-by-2030.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ran Duan

Ran Duan (Ph.D. Michigan State University) is an assistant professor of environmental communication at the University of Nevada Reno. Her research interests include the use of animation in environmental news, visual communication of natural disasters, risk perception, and the implications of these areas for public policy and journalism practice.

Laura Crosswell

Laura Crosswell (Ph.D., Louisiana State University) is an associate professor of health communication at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research focuses on the implications of media effects, implicit bias, and persuasive strategies as they relate to public health communication/marketing.

Kari Barber

Kari Barber (M.F.A., American University) is an associate professor of electronic media at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests include documentary film production and history; interactive/participatory documentary; and the use of animation in journalism, documentary and non-fiction storytelling.