Modeling Format and Source Effects of an Advocacy Message

In: Journalism & mass communication quarterly: JMCQ, Band 73, Heft 1, S. 135-146

Abstract

When a company wants to spread its ideas, it faces key choices of format and source. It may choose to buy advertising space or to work with media reporters to generate news coverage. The source may be a corporate official, such as the CEO, or it may be an outside, noncommercial authority. The experiment reported in this study suggests that news stories may be more effective than ads. A CEO appears more persuasive than an outside authority because the CEO can generate more interest among the audience. Persuasion, in turn, may lead to behavioral changes.