The effects of news consumption via social media and news information overload on perceptions of journalistic norms and practices

Given the widespread adoption of social media for sharing and accessing news, as well as the possibility of news consumers' direct interactions with journalists through social media, this study analyzed the relationships among news access via social media (NASM), perceived news information overload (NIO), news consumption, and perceptions of journalistic norms and practices. The results indicated that NIO moderated the relationships between NASM and selective exposure and between NASM and willingness to pay for quality news. Regarding journalistic norms and practices, participants valued the speed of journalism when they frequently accessed news on social media more so than traditional journalistic norms. Finally, there were statistically significant interactions between NIO and two types of news consumption behaviors (i.e., selective exposure and news avoidance) concerning participants' perceptions of news quality. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.