新聞／留言立場與文化世界觀對科技利益風險感知與來源可信度的影響－以基改馬鈴薯為例

Abstract

新聞中的科學傳播一直是受到學術界關注的領域，然而，近年來隨著網路資訊技術的發展，如新聞網站等網路傳播管道逐漸受到各家新聞媒體重視，並被社會大眾廣泛接受，而數位新聞留言群眾參與式的資訊內容，也搭配出現於網路新聞頁面之中。本研究希望了解此種新聞報導結合留言訊息的複合式文本格式，是否會對科學新聞傳播過程造成不同於以往的影響。本研究選擇近年重要的基改食品使用申請案之議題—基改馬鈴薯議題為研究對象，探討包含相關內容的新聞及留言訊息，對實驗受試者之風險及利益感知是否產生影響。 本研究除了探討新聞報導及留言內容對科學議題傳播造成的影響，也以文化風險世界觀概念作為解釋影響差異的理論基礎，採用線上實驗方法，以新聞與留言立場作為操弄變項，文化風險世界觀中階層－平等主義及個人－社群主義兩種變項為調節變項，風險感知、利益感知及消息來源可信度作為依變項的實驗設計，針對有使用過包含新聞報導及留言的新聞網站讀者為研究對象，受試者隨機分配至四組實驗組分別填寫網路問卷，共回收484份問卷，包括有效樣本476份。 研究結果顯示，由新聞與留言立場變項組成的四組實驗組別，造成受試者對基改馬鈴薯議題的風險感知及利益感知產生顯著差異；文化風險世界觀中的兩組變項，亦會對新聞及留言的消息來源可信度，以及對於該議題風險利益感知產生顯著差異；最後，文化風險世界觀在新聞及留言訊息對風險利益感知的影響差異上，只有階層－平等主義變項在風險感知影響關係中會產生調節效果，並凸顯文化風險世界觀特性之影響，即階層主義者更重視新聞報導內容，受新聞立場影響，而平等主義者更容易受留言訊息立場影響。 本研究結果除了能了解網路中新聞及留言內容對科學傳播之影響效果，亦證明文化風險世界觀作為影響因素在傳播過程中產生作用，此結果可作為未來相關研究主題之參考基礎。除了研究領域，也期望提升新聞媒體業者及社會各界，對使用網路管道報導科學新聞議題所產生之影響的了解，並增加往後對於留言功能使用、限制或延伸應用上的討論及重視程度。

Science communication in news reports has always been an area of concern to the academia. The advancement of the Internet and information technology in recent years has rendered the communication method of online news sites to gain increased attention from the news media industry as well as wide acceptance by the public. Comments of online news readers, as a type of information content involving mass participation, also appear on online news site. This study aims to determine whether the composite text format—news reports combined with reader comments—exerts an unprecedented effect on communication of scientific news. Because applications for the use of genetically modified food has remained a heated topic in recent years, online news and comments regarding “genetically modified potatoes” were discussed in this study to explore whether they swayed participants’ risk and benefit perceptions. In addition to exploring the effect of online news reports and reader comments on the communication of scientific issues, this study adopted the concept of cultural worldview of risk as the theoretical basis to explain the difference in impact. An online experiment was conducted, where discourse features of information source and information position were the manipulated variables; hierarchy–egalitarianism and individualism–communitarianism derived from the cultural worldview of risk served as the two moderator variables; and risk perception, benefit perception, and information source reliability served as the dependent variables. Individuals who have both visited online news sites and left comments were recruited as participants, who were randomly assigned to four experimental groups to complete an online questionnaire. A total of 484 questionnaires were returned, with 476 valid samples. The variable combination of discourse features of information source and information position caused the participants from the four experimental groups to exhibit significant difference in the risk perception and benefit perception of news on genetically modified potatoes. Hierarchy–egalitarianism and individualism–communitarianism also exhibited significant difference in the risk perception and benefit perception of the same topic. Finally, only hierarchy–egalitarianism exerted a moderating effect on the relationship between online news and reader comments and risk/benefit perception. The findings accentuate the influence of cultural worldview of risk. Classism advocates pay more attention to the content of news reports and are affected by the position of the report, whereas egalitarianism advocates are subject to the influence of reader comments. Findings of this study facilitate the understanding of the effect of online news and comment’s content on science communication as well as verifies the effect of cultural worldview of risk serving as an influencing factor in the impact process. These findings may serve as references for relevant research in the future. In addition to the research field, this study aims to assist the news media and all sectors of society in understanding the impact from using the Internet as a means to communicate scientific news, thereby promoting discussion on and drawing attention to the use, restriction, or extended application of online comments.