Packaging Television News: The Effects of Tabloid on Information Processing and Evaluative Responses

Abstract

Abstract This experiment assessed the impact of formal features associated with the packaging of tabloid and standard news on viewer arousal, attention, information recognition, memory, and evaluations of news. The flamboyant tabloid packaging style increased arousal and attention but did not have a significant impact on recognition memory or delayed free recall of information. Moreover, viewers found standard versions to be more believable and informative than the tabloid versions of news stories.