Being entertained, well informed or both? : an analysis of the effects on the audience of the Spanish television show

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Being Entertained, Well Informed or Both?

An analysis of the effects on the audience of the Spanish television show

Salvados (“Saved”)

Clara Martinez | 10841881

Master Thesis 2015–2016

Graduate School of Communication | Master Program Communication Science Track – Political Communication

University of Amsterdam Supervisor | Yphtach Lelkes

28/01/2016.

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Abstract

The present study sought to determine the audience effects of Salvados through an experimental survey. The public is increasingly using non-traditional sources of television in order to be informed. Salvados has created a scholarly debate regarding its genre: some define it as infotainment, others as investigative journalism. The popularity and socio-political influence of Salvados in shaping public opinion in Spain and its defining traits that suggest a hybrid genre between investigative journalism and infotainment TV formats motivated further investigation and this study. The results show that Salvados is perceived as a strong achiever of informing accurately entertaining and, lean more concisely towards its genre hybridism.

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1. Introduction

People have been learning about politics and forming their political opinion through the media for years. Obviously, what they learn or understand from what the media tells them has an impact on their political behavior, hence on democracy.

Today, in spite of the increasing role of the social media as a source of political information, television remains a prominent medium where citizens learn about politics and government in Western society (Mitchell, 2015; AIMC, 2015). For years, traditional news media performed the service of connecting the public with the policy makers, but

increasingly audiences are turning to non traditional news sources for their news (e.g. Altheide, 2004). This drift in the audience’s preferences from traditional to non traditional news formats has attracted considerable scholarly interest in studying the effects of these non traditional forms of news on the audience and assessing the ways in which they may modify attitudes and social behavior. Some studies have described the development of numerous genre hybrids as a real “promiscuous hybridity” among television formats (as cited in Rose, 2003, p 3). However, only limited research has been done in that area.

Spanish television features one such hybrid program: Salvados (“Saved”) This politically-oriented television program, integrates characteristics of both infotainment and investigative journalism and enjoys high rates of popularity (Salvados Hits Record Highs,” n.d., 2015). The success of Salvados in reaching Sunday night audience heights is remarkable given the high rates of politically unconcerned or disillusioned individuals in Spain (Montero & Tocal, 2013). Furthermore, since the incorporation of Salvados into Sunday night Spanish television programming in 2008, it has often surpassed the audience ratings of tabloid

programs among Sunday night television shows. In addition, Salvados can claim to have had a sociopolitical impact unprecedented for a Spanish television show. Two program episodes,

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one about a subway derailment that had killed 43 people in the city of Valencia, the other about the sexual harassment of a female captain in the Spanish army by one of her superiors, had legal consequences and created a social scandal. For these reasons, the aim of this study is to analyze the broad effects of Salvados on its audience. Our literature section contains a study that has comparatively analyzed the genre characteristic of the Norwegian television program, Hjernevask (“Brainwashing”) and has concluded that it was a genre hybrid (Stopel, 2012). But we found no evidence of studies on the audience effects of a hybrid television program that combines traits of infotainment and investigating journalism. The study here is intended to fill this research gap. Thus, the research question of this study inquires:

RQ: What effects does the Spanish television program Salvados (“Saved”) have on the audience’s political interest, political knowledge and trust in media, and to what extend do they differ from investigative journalism and infotainment effects?

2. Theoretical framework

2.1 Findings on Salvados and genre hybrids

The societal impact in Spain of Salvados has spurred scholarly interest in categorizing this program. Some consider Salvados an infotainment product (e.g. Morales Carrasco, 2014; Berrocal et al, 2014; Berrocal, 2015); others maintain that it is characteristic of investigative journalism (e.g. Martinez Mate, 2015; Franco & Pellicer, 2014). This academic disagreement is a strong indication that Salvados could be a mixing of the two television genres. Indeed, Salvados’ program directors have acknowledged that this genre question is an intellectual discussion for scholars more than a practical concern on their day-to-day agenda. They claim that they try to stay away from strict characterization and suggest that perhaps Salvados epitomizes a “no-genre” show (C. Martinez, personal communication, January 25, 2016).

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Recently, Salvados has been compared to the Norwegian TV show series “Hjernevask” (“Brainwashing” in English) (“Un Programa de TV Noruego,” n.d., 2013). The Norwegian series had a strong impact on the government’s agenda-setting and gathered national and international mainstream media attention. Also, “Brainwashing” created controversy and attracted the interest of the scholars regarding its categorization. A full-length study classified this program as a “hybrid between science communication and entertainment” (Stopel, 2012).

In general, a growing interest seems to have emerged for redefining journalistic genres among scholars that calls for a reexamination of the concepts of “soft news” and “hard news” (Reinemann, Stanyer, Scherr, & Legnante, 2011) and even asserts the need and the advantages of an intermediate classification (Lehman-Wilzig & Seletzky, 2010). In a genre study on televsion, Feuer (1991, p. 118) argues that television has been using standard program forms that do not properly fit the medium of television, because TV formats are not “discrete texts” the same way movies are.

Since Salvados has been associated with both infotainment and investigative

journalism, the effects analysis of these two genres as reported in the literature will be used as comparative reference. The present study will establish its hypothesis based on Salvados’ popularity and social-political impact as well as on the assumption that, being a genre hybrid, Salvados embodies the best defining qualities of the two. The next section will provide a brief explanation of only those concepts used in the study that require clarification as to how they have been understood: (1) the two main journalistic genres involved in the analysis, from which we will derive the first hypothesis of this study (2) the most recurrent aspects used to measure the effects of TV formats on the audience. Then, the main literature findings on the effects of investigative journalism and infotainment on the audience will be presented and the remaining hypotheses derived from those effects.

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2.2 Main concepts used in the study

The journalistic paradigm that encompasses all investigative journalism is the

watchdog ideal. This ideal reflects “the long‐established liberal conception of the news media as the fourth estate” (Norris, 2012, 2), which finds expression in an informative, objective, factual, and critical reporting style. This study has assumed that references on trust of news media will be included when they specifically refer to the role of watchdog journalism (e.g. Gil de Zuñiga & Hinsley, 2013). The priority of watchdog journalism is reaching for information that may identify lapses in the truth and report it to the public (De Burg, 2009, p.10).

The paradigm for infotainment is best defined by David Demers (2005, p.143) as the “information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers.” It has been argued that Salvados exhibits these two defining characteristics of infotainment: (1) information-seeking (e.g. Martinez Mate, 2015; Franco & Pellicer, 2014), (2) entertainment-focused (e.g. Morales Carrasco, 2014; Berrocal et al, 2014; Berrocal, 2015). Thus, in accordance with the overall assumption of this study that Salvados includes the best of these two worlds, the first two hypotheses are presented:

H1a: People that watch the Salvados TV format will find it more informative than

people who watch the infotainment TV format and the investigative journalism TV format.

H1b: People exposed to the Salvados TV format will find it more entertaining than

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The concepts of political participation and political engagement may have different semantic connotations, but they are interchangeably used in the literature. That makes sense, since political “participation” does not necessarily mean taking an active role in politics, but it may indicate a general interest in politics, frequent talks about political matters or following politics through the media. It is what Niemi, Craig, and Mattei (1991, p.1410) define as “psychological involvement.” In that sense, it can be inferred that political interest becomes the substance for political engagement. Therefore, in this study we will understand political interest as any type of engagement in political life active or passive.

Finally, this study has avoided using the concept of media trust as a rough synonym for media credibility; instead it has adopted the concepts of “trust in the accuracy of

depictions” and “trust in the selectivity of topics” from the model by Kohring and Matthes (2007)

2.3 Findings of audience effects for infotainment and investigative journalism

The literature on the political effects of infotainment has yielded an assortment of results, since the sources of political entertainment vary in context (e.g. Moy, Xenos & Hess, 2005) type of audience (Young & Tisinger, 2006) and type of infotainment (Guggenheim, Kwak & Campbell, 2011) among other things. Despite variances in the results, literature does show that political interest, media trust and political knowledge are the most important indicators of the effects of infotainment on the audience.

Although findings on the effects of investigative journalism on the audience are hard to find in the literature, we have identified studies that relate watchdog journalism with political interest and media trust. Indeed, reported research has focused exclusively on the effects of investigative journalism on the political interest and media trust of the general audience.

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Studies testing the political interest factor in audiences exposed to political

entertainment show conflicting results. Some report that consumption of infotainment can augment the political engagement of the audiences under specific circumstances (i.e.

depending on the type of infotainment show and whether or not is election time.) (e.g. Moy et al. 2005; Baym, 2005; Hoffman & Thompson, 2009), but an important number of reports find that such exposure causes an increase of political disaffection (e.g. Blumler, 1992; Holtz-Bacha,1999; Baumgartner & Morris, 2006).

The first and the most comprehensive study to specifically address and measure the societal impact of investigative reporting, carried out by researchers at Northwestern University, was intended to measured the impact of investigative journalism on the general public, policymakers and agenda setting through exposés of ill-handled political issues. Some positive effects were reported regarding the political interest of the audience exposed to accounts of corruption or malfeasance (Cook et al,1983; Leff, Protess, & Brooks, 1986; Protess et al. 1987, Nichols at al. (2006). More recently, the political interest and

mobilization of the public towards ending immunity for political or social crimes has been associated by the surge of investigative journalism in many parts of the world (Coronel, 2010).

Enough support is found to correlate positively investigative journalism with the political interest of its audience. Hence, the second hypothesis of this study is proposed:

H2: People exposed to the Salvados television show will be more interested in politics than people exposed to the infotainment show and the investigative journalism show.

There are also findings reporting good news for “soft news” in the sense that viewers with low levels of political sophistication would be more likely to increase their political interest

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than very politically sophisticated viewers (Baum 2003, Young 2004, Moy et al. 2005). Regarding the impact of investigative journalism, no concrete pre-existing political or educational condition has been researched. Therefore, we will assume that investigative journalism has positive effects on the political interest of its audience, as mentioned above. Hence, H4 will be proposed:

H3: Among the less knowledgeable viewers, Salvados will have a greater effect in raising their political interest than the investigative journalism and the infotainment formats.

Concerning general audience levels of media trust, researchers have often reported that exposure to infotainment causes mistrust in the media (e.g. Pfau, Moy, Radler, & Bridgeman, 1998; Baumgartner & Morris, 2006). Regarding levels of media trust and watchdog

journalism, Albæk, Dalen, Jebril, and de Vreese ( 2014) found that news satisfaction was positively correlated with the role of watchdog reporting in a comparative study of three European countries. Therefore, considering the hybridity of Salvados, two opposite hypothesis could derive from these findings:

H4a: People exposed to the Salvados TV format will have more trust in the media than people exposed to the infotainment format and to the investigative journalism format.

H4b: People exposed to the Salvados TV format will have less trust in the media than people exposed to the investigative journalism format.

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3. Method

3.1 Research design

In order to test the hypothesis of the study, a between-subjects experiment was conducted. Three Spanish television programs were chosen to assess the effects of Salvados on the audience in comparison with the effects of an investigative journalism program on the audience and the effects of an infotainment program on the audience. The program representative of investigative journalism is the Spanish TV show El Objetivo broadcasted in TV channel laSexta; the program representative of infotainment is late night Spanish TV show El Hormiguero from TV channel Antena 3, and the program subject of our study is Spanish TV show Salvados from TV channel laSexta. Table 1 is used as a pilot study of our experiment where the comparativeness of the three programs is justified. Table 1 Name of show Name of presenter Popularity of presenter Popularity of show [audience rates] Time of show Day of show Channel Salvados Jordi Evole Fb likes: 1,400.000 Twitter followers: 2,39M popularity index: 7.6 average of 12,20 21:30 - 22-30 Sunday laSexta El Objetivo Ana Pastor Fb likes: 80,000 Twitter followers: 1.62M popularity index: 7.1 average of 8,60 22:30 - 23-30 Sunday laSexta El Hormiguero Pablo Motos Fb likes: 158,807 Twitter followers: 64.3K popularity index:7.2 average of 8.40 21:30 - 22.25 Monday to Thursday Antena 3

Source: authors’ own creation with data from: www.lasexta.com; personality media survey; www.Antena3.com; www.elpais.com (October, 2016)

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3.2 Sample

Data was drawn from Facebook acquaintances and from extended acquaintances. A total of N= 315 participants were recruited for this study. Of these 315 participants, 209 respondents completed the questionnaire. The average age of the sample was (M= 27.8 SD= 3.58), 51% being females. Regarding the education levels of the sample, most of the

respondents had completed a University Bachelor degree (38.6%) or a University Master’s degree (28.4) while only a minority of the sample had finished college (15.7%) or high school (1.9%). 90.9% of the sample were Spanish citizens. Randomization of the sample yielded N= 65 respondents for the Salvados condition N= 76 for the infotainment condition and N= 68 for the investigative journalism condition. A randomization check was performed on age φc= 0.068 p= 0.619, gender φc =0.052 p = 0.758, education φc= 0.026 p= 0.127, origin φc= 0.165 p=0.059, political knowledge F= (2, 206)= 0.09 p= 0.909 and political efficacy F=(2, 206)=1.865 p= 0.201. Results indicate the sample was correctly randomized.

3.3 Experimental stimuli

The three sampled groups viewed a 3-minute video clip excerpted from each of the three programs broadcasted within the electoral period in Spain, between October 16 and November 27, 2015. In the elaboration of the video clips2 I was assured that the content was identical. Two politicians, Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera, main leaders of two emerging political parties in Spain, presented their position on main socio-political Spanish concerns: the public pension plan system, minimum wage, tax evasion among the population and the political parties, the new "Gag Law" and the Catalan referendum. Participants in condition 1 viewed a three-minute clip of Salvados; participants in condition 2 viewed a three-minute clip of the infotainment show El Hormiguero; participants in condition 3 viewed a three-minute clip of the investigating journalism show El Objetivo. They were all about the same policies of the two emerging political parties in Spain

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3.4 Procedure

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions and had to answer a 21- item questionnaire. Participants from each condition had to answer the same

questionnaire that only differed when it came to the stimulus clip respondents viewed half way through the survey. Question 1 to 3 will measure pre-existing political knowledge of the audience, measured before exposure to the stimuli. Questions were retrieved from the

Spanish barometer of the Center of Sociological Investigation (CIS) dated October 2013- July 2015. After exposure, the three groups had to answer a 15-issue questionnaire assessing the impact of these three television shows on the dependent variables of our study: political interest, political and media trust

3.5 Measures

Political knowledge

Political knowledge about Spanish politics was measured through three questions (e.g. Can you tell me which political parties are eligible for direct public funding in Spain?) retrieved from the Spanish Center of Sociological Investigation (CIS) July 2015. (M=7.96, SD=1.2). The higher the score in these three questions the more knowledgeable the

participants were about the Spanish political culture. A political knowledge indicator could be computed since the PCA test indicated one component with factor loadings ranging from 0.71 to 0.85. A reliability test showed that the four questions created a reliable scale α = 0.69.

Political interest

Political interest was measured by three questions (e.g. on a scale 5 point scale

ranging from 1= not al all important to 5= very important. (M=4.9, SD=0.95). Questions were retrieved from Centre Estudis Opinió Generalitat Catalunya, 2015 (CEO) and the

Eurobarometer, 2013. A high score indicated high levels of interest for politics. A political interest indicator could be computed since the PCA test indicated one component with factor

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loadings ranging from 0.73 to 0.82. A reliability test showed that the three questions created a reliable scale α = 0.81.

Media Trust

Question assessing how participants perceived the level of objectivity of the media -traditional and non -traditional- measured media trust. Three questions retrieved from the Eurobarometer study 2013 and the CIS 2013 (i.e. “Can you tell me if you agree with the following statement: I trust the veracity of all information issued by the media” ) were measured on 5 -point scale ranging from 1= I strongly disagree to 5= I strongly agree or 1= never to 5=always. (M=2.72, SD=0.56). A high score indicated high levels of media trust. A political interest indicator could be computed since the PCA test indicated one component with factor loadings ranging from 0.73 to 0.82. A reliability test showed that the three questions created a reliable scale α = 0.76.

Informative value

The informative scale (M=; SD=) was measured with one item that inquired about the level of informativeness participants assed the stimuli clip. The higher the score from a scale 1-7 the more informative was the clip considered. A political interest indicator could be computed with a reliability test showed that the three questions created a reliable scale α = 0.81.

Entertaining value (only one item)

The informative scale (M=4.43, SD=1.8). was measured with one item that inquired about the level of informativeness participants assed the stimuli clip 1 being not entertaining at all and 7 being very entertaining. A political interest indicator could be computed with a reliability test showed that the three questions created a reliable scale α = 0.81.

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4. Results

H1a. How informative is Salvados?

It will be recalled that people that watch the Salvados TV format are expected to consider it more informative than people who watch the infotainment TV show and the investigative journalism TV show. In particular, people exposed to the Salvados format will rate the show higher concerning how informative they considered this concrete format in regards of the topics treated in the clip, than people rating informative levels in the infotainment or the investigative journalism formats. This assumption is partially confirmed. Table 1 reveals that indeed Salvados viewers (N=64) scored the program higher in informativeness (M=4.59, SD= 1.41) than

participants in the two other conditions. The One -way Anova conducted also yielded significant differences in levels of information-rating between the means of the three groups F (2,206)= 33.78 p<0.01. However, further Bonferroni pos-hoc test conducted revealed statistical relevance only confirmed between the Salvados group and the infotainment group. The Salvados viewers scored means 2.02 points higher on average than people in the infotainment group, Mdiff= 2.02 p<0.01, while they only scored 0.33 points higher on average than the investigative journalism viewers. Mdiff= 0.33, p= 0.696.

Table 1

Descriptive statistics assessing entertaining levels

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Salvados 64 4.59 1.444 .176

Infotainment 76 2.58 1.594 .183

Investig J 68 4.26 1.698 .206

Total 208 3.75 1.808 .125

Thus, the hypothesis appears to receive partially support. People may consider Salvados more informative than infotainment and slightly more informative than the investigative

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13 journalism format, but how do people perceive the program regarding its entertaining levels compared to the two other programs?

H1b. Salvados and entertainment levels

Here we then ask if people that see the Salvados program will asses it more entertaining compared to people that see the infotainment program and to people that see the investigative journalism program. The answer is yes. As table 2 reveals, Salvados viewers have a higher mean score in entertaining value (M=5.23, SD= 1.44) than viewers of the infotainment and in the investigative journalism show. Scoring 5.23 on average indicates a quite high assessment of entertaining value among the viewers watching Salvados. The One-way ANOVA conducted also yielded significant differences in entertaining ratings between the means of the three groups F (2,206)= 11.114 p<0.01. Further Bonferroni post-hoc indeed confirmed Salvados being the most entertaining among the three types of formats: Salvados viewers scored 1.3 points higher on average compared to viewers of the infotainment condition Mdiff= 1.32 p<0.01 and 1 point higher compared to viewers of the investigative journalism condition Mdiff= 0.99 p<0.1

Table 2

Descriptive statistics assessing entertaining levels

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error

Salvados 65 5.23 1.44 0.18

Infotainment 76 3.91 1.88 0.22

Investig J 68 4.24 1.75 0.212

Total 209 4.43 1.79 0.124

Thus H1b is accepted. Lets now consider the effects that Salvados has on the audience compared to the effects that the infotainment program and the investigative journalism

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H2- Effects of Salvados on political interest

This study held that people who watch the Salvados show will be more interested in politics than people exposed to the infotainment show and than people exposed to the

investigative journalism show. More concretely, after exposure to the Salvados show, people will score higher on the political interest scale than people exposed to the other two TV formats. This assumption is not confirmed. A One-way ANOVA was performed showing that political interest does not vary between the three groups. F (2, 206)= 0.559, p= 0.572.

However, has table 3 illustrates, we can discern that those participants exposed to the

infotainment program (N=76) scored slightly higher levels of political interest (M=4.99, SD= 0.95) than participants exposed to the Salvados or the investigative journalism format.

Table 3

Descriptive statistics political interest per condition

N Mean SD SE

Salvados 65 4.87 1.01 0.13

Infotainment 76 4.99 0.95 0.11

Investig J 68 4.82 0.88 0.11

Total 209 4.90 0.95 0.65

H2 can not be accepted. Although the overall sample seems to indicate that exposure to the Salvados format does not trigger more political interest than exposure to the other formats, it might be that among the less sophisticated in politics, these effects doe indeed happen. Thus H3 is close to being accepted. Regarding media trust: does Salvados contribute to enhance media trust or, on the contrary, does it does it foster mistrust in the media?

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H3- Effects of Salvados among the less politically sophisticated

We ask again if, among those with less political knowledge, Salvados has a stronger effect on raising their political interest than infotainment formats and than investigative journalism formats do. The answer is, to an extend. As Table 4 shows participants with low political knowledge exposed to the Salvados format (N=65) are the ones with the highest estimated marginal mean scores (eM= 5.01, SE=0.48). The ANOVA test shows that the marginal or close to statistical significance F (2; 206)= 1.25 p =0.188 between participants with low political knowledge in each condition. Further post-hoc test showed that the

marginal means of low political sophisticated viewers in the Salvados condition score almost one point higher on average than people with the same characteristics in the infotainment condition Mdiff= 0.89, SE=0.67 p=0.187 although no significance is found between the same comparative groups in the Salvados and the investigative journalism condition Mdiff= 0.18, SE=0.67 p=0.7.

Table 4

Estimates of low political knowledge on political interest

Condition _Mean _SE

Salvados 5.01 0.48

Infotainment 4.12 0.47

Investig J 4.83 0.12

Thus H3 is close to being accepted. Regarding media trust: does Salvados contribute to enhance media trust or, on the contrary, does it does it promote mistrust in the media?

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H4a & H4b- The effects of Salvados on media trust.

Here we recall that the final assumptions of this study are pared since one stands in symmetrical opposition to the other: Is Salvados the worse or the best format related to the paper media hold in society? H4a states that people watching the Salvados format will have more trust in the media than people exposed to the other two formats. In particular, people exposed to Salvados will score higher levels of media trust than people exposed to the other two formats. H4b states the contrary. People exposed to the Salvados format were be the less trustful in media in comparison to people exposed to the other two TV formats. For the last paired hypothesis a One-way ANOVA was performed. Results show no significant difference between conditions F (2, 206)= 1.977, p= 0.141. Although there are no significant differences between conditions Table 5 illustrates that participants in the Salvados group(N=65) had less trust in media (M = 2.61 SD =0.55) than in the other two groups .

Table 5

Descriptive statistics media trust per condition

N M SD SE Salvados 65 2.61 0.55 0.68 Infotainment 76 2.79 0.60 0.69 Investig J 68 2.76 0.52 0.63 Total 209 2.72 0.56 0.04

Thus, H4a cannot be accepted and H4b can be accepted. Now, the findings just mentioned will be discussed.

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5. Discussion

In this paper, an experimental survey is used to determine the main effects on the audience of the Spanish TV program Salvados. We found that Salvados is considered more entertaining than the infotainment program and the investigative journalism program to which it was compared. We can infer that Salvados has surpassed the two other TV formats because of how it captures the attention of the viewer. Our results indicate that Salvados is perceived to be more informative than the infotainment program and slightly more

informative than the investigative journalism program. Also, participants not only consider Salvados to be more entertaining than the other two programs, but they graded it quite highly in a scale of entertaining rating. Infotainment was rated the least entertaining of the three formats, which is in line with findings indicating that effects of infotainment programs vary broadly for contextual reasons (Moy et al, 2005). Salvados scored high means on both, entertainment and information levels that were also close to each other, the entertaining value being slightly higher than the information value. Altogether, these findings suggest that there may be other television formats better suited, because of their didactic and entertaining characteristics, to present political topics to the general audience.

Among the less politically knowledgeable, our results showed that this group demonstrated higher levels of political interest when exposed to the Salvados format than when exposed to the infotainment format. Therefore, it can also be inferred from the results that Salvados is a better asset in terms of motivation for those who lack much political knowledge. These results contradict findings by Baum (2003), Young (2004) and Moy, Xenos and Hess (2005) that infotainment is the non-conventional TV format capable of raising political awareness among the less politically sophisticated. The findings regarding

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our unsophisticated viewers should be taken more as an indication than a certified fact because of their close to but not statistical significance.

Salvados does not seem to generate more interest in politics than the other two genres. Also, Salvados is the format that creates less “media trust,” just the opposite of what had been anticipated. In fact, the viewers exposed to the infotainment format were the ones who exhibited more media trust. Again, our results contradict findings by Pfau, Moy, Radler and Bridgeman (1998) and Baumgartner and Morris (2006). Results also indicate high levels of media mistrust in general.

The results of our study showed mixed effects on the Salvados audience. As was the case with the literature reviewed on infotainment, -where findings were not only diverse but often contradictory- our findings for Salvados also show that this “genre hybrid” collects as much results variation as a non hybrid in terms of audience effects. For now, Salvados seems to hold the key to success for combining information and entertainment in the best way. Its format may be didactic enough to reach out to its less knowledgeable viewers. We are aware that our experimental results can be conditioned by other variables not contemplated in this study, such as context, political culture, media culture and type of audience. In spite of these restraints, Salvados seems to contain some key ingredients for mitigating socio-political apathy.

This study has encountered some limitations. Our conclusions have been stated with caution, as they derived from marginal or weak statistical significance. That can be explained by different factors. First, the sample could have been more representative regarding the number of less politically knowledgeable participants. This limitation exits because the survey was distributed on social media to acquaintances with quite high educational levels. Second, the design could be considered not causational enough. The size of the effects of the stimuli content may have been substantially reduced because the subject matter had been

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aired in the media for quite some time. (It was election time, and the video clips used in the experiment featured two candidates of emerging parties that had created a lot of expectation in Spain.) Additionally, the clips were short, as it is expected in a short survey. A three-minute sequence, however, may not be long enough to perceive differences or be attracted by the format. Finally, the conceptual model on which the variables of interest were drawn mainly from American findings that considered U.S. programs and the effects of those programs on American society. The literature also supports the importance of context influences (Albæk et al. 2014). The relative lack availability of literature on the effects of investigative journalism was another limitation.

Future research regarding hybridity effects should consider establishing a different conceptual model more adequate to the nature of this format. Furthermore, a panel study to assess political interest and other variables for participants should be conducted to assess stronger causational effects. In spite of limitations, this study has contributed to the literature by being the first study in the field to shed some light on the relevance to research upon the effects of television genre hybridity. Hybrid television formats should be further researched with more resources to more fully understand the behavioral effects and consequence’s of these television formats.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to express my thanks to Atresmedia for allowing me to use and distribute to participants portions of video clips extracted from the following programs: “Iglesias vs Rivera” (Salvados, LaSexta, 6/10/2015); “Pablo Iglesias,” El Hormiguero, LaSexta, 3/11/2015; “Albert Rivera,” El Hormiguero, LaSexta, 4/11/2016; “Especial Entrevistas Electorales 20D: Albert Rivera,” Antena3 TV, El Objetivo, 20/11/2015; “Especial Entrevistas Electorales 20D: Pablo Iglesias,” Antena3 TV, El Objetivo, 27/11/2015.

I also wish to thank Daniel Picas form Salvados Communication Department for graciously responding to questions during a telephone interview and providing useful insights on the program.

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Appendix

Online Experiment

Note: Below is my translation of the questionnaire given to Spanish participants in Spanish. Dear Participant:

This is an invitation to participate in my research for my Political Communication master thesis at the University of Amsterdam. Your participation in this research will consist in viewing a video clip of a program with political content from a Spanish television channel and then answering a short questionnaire. Your participation should not take longer than 10 minutes.

Since this research is conducted under the responsibility of the University of Amsterdam, we guarantee the following:

1. Your privacy is protected and your answers and personal data will not be distributed to third parties under any circumstances, unless you authorize us previously.

2. You can refuse to participate in this study or you can discontinue participation without having to give any explanation for it. After participating, you have 24 hours time to withdraw your permission that your responses and data are used in this study.

3. By participating in this study, you will not be subjected to any risk or discomfort; the investigator or investigators will not deliberately create any misunderstanding and you will not be exposed to any display material that may offend your sensibilities.

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4. Within five months after the conclusion of this study, we will have at your disposal a report with the overall results obtained.

For additional information on this study and the invitation to participate, you can contact at any time with its principal researcher: Clara Martinez, University of Amsterdam,

Roeterseiland, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WW, Amsterdam, Netherlands. c.mrtnzgines@gmail.com

In case you have any complaints or want to make an observation about the development of this study and its procedures regarding your participation, you can directly contact the Ethics Committee of the University of Amsterdam via the following address: Ethics Committee, University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam; 020-525-3680; ascor-secr-fmg@uva.nl. All complaints or comments will be treated confidentially.

I hope I have provided you with enough information. I take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your time and interest in participating in this research.

To facilitate the completion of the questionnaire, please use a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

Cordially, Clara Martinez

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Q1 What is your gender?

o

male

o

female

Q2 What is your age?

Q3 What is the last grade or class you have completed?

o

I can read and write but went to school for less than 5 years.

o

I attended school 5 or more years but did not complete primary or secondary school

o

Secondary school

o

High school or equivalent

o

Intermediate vocational education or equivalent

o

Advanced vocational education or equivalent

o

University BSc

o

University MSc, Postgraduate education, Professional training

o

Doctorate (PhD)

o

Other

o

Don’t know

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Q4 Are you a Spanish citizen?

o

Yes, I am a Spanish citizen

o

Yes, I am a Spanish citizen but I am also a citizen of another country

o

I am not a Spanish citizen, but I am a citizen of one of the countries of the European Union.

o

I am not a citizen of the European Union

Now you will be asked to answer three questions of general knowledge about Spanish politics

Q5 Please identify the political parties of each of the following Spanish politicians Soraya Sánchez de Santa María Albert Rivera Pablo Iglesias Artur Mas Duran i Lleida David Fernández Iñigo Errejón Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP)

o

Ciudadanos

o

Democràcia i Llibertat

o

Izquierda Unida

o

Partido Popular

o

Partido Socialista Obrero Español

o

Podemos

o

Unió

o

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Q6. Can you tell me who was the first president of democratic Spain after general Franco’s dictatorship?

o

Santiago Carrillo

o

Felipe González

o

Adolfo Suárez

Q7. Can you tell me what political parties are eligible for direct public funding in Spain?

o

Only the two leading political parties are eligible

o

All political parties are eligible

o

There is no public funding for political parties

Q8 On the whole, are you very satisfied, fairly satisfied or unsatisfied with the functioning of Spanish democracy?

o

Very dissatisfied

o

Not very satisfied

o

Fairly satisfied

o

Very satisfied

o

Don’t know

Q9 Do you trust that the Spanish government will act in the best interests of Spain?

o

I never trust

o

I seldom trust

o

I trust most of the times

o

I always trust

o

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Q10 Please tell me how much trust you place on the following institutions

Q11 How interested would you say you are in politics?

o

Not at all interested

o

Hardly interested

o

It depends on the subject matter

o

I am moderately interested

o

I am very interested

o

Don’t know

I never trust I seldom trust I trust most of

the times I always trust don’t know

The Spanish legal system

o

Law enforcement

o

Army

o

Church

o

Unions

o

Political parties

o

The European Union

o

The United Nations

o

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Q12 Generally speaking, how much attention do you pay to the following issues when they are aired inthe media?

Q13 Can you tell me how important are the following in your life?

No attention at all Little attention A fair amount of attention A great deal

of attention Don’t know

National politics

o

Regional politics

o

International politics

o

Not at all important Hardly important Somewhat important Very

important Don’t know

Family

o

Friends

o

Free time

o

Politics

o

Work

o

Religion

o

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Q14 On a scale 1 to 5, 1 being “I strongly disagree” and 5 “I totally agree,” can you tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statement

Q15 How much do you trust the president of the Spanish government, Mr. Mariano Rajoy?

o

No trust at all

o

Little trust

o

Fairly strong trust

o

Very strong trust

o

Don’t know

Q16 How much do you trust the leader of the principal opposition party, Mr. Pedro Sánchez?

o

No trust at all

o

Little trust

o

Fairly strong trust

o

Very strong trust

o

Don’t know

Q17 On a scale 1 to 5, 1 being “I strongly disagree” and 5 “I strongly agree,” can you tell me if you agree with the following statement

Strongly disagree 1 ₂ ₃ ₄ Totally agree 5 Corruption (for example, taking

bribes or using public funds for a private purpose) is a

widespread practice among politicians.

o

Totally agree 1 ₂ ₃ ₄ Strongly disagree 5 I trust the veracity of all

information issued by the media.

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Q18 Please, tell me how much you trust the information issued by the following media, public or private

Q19 How much do you think the media influences the following

Never Seldom Most of the

time Always Don’t know

Internet

o

Press

o

Social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.)

o

Television

o

Radio

o

In no way Not much Somewhat Very much Don’t know

What people think

about an issue

o

Defining what issues are important to society

o

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Q20 On a scale 1 to 7, 1 being “not entertaining at all” and 7 “very entertaining,” can you tell me how entertaining you found this video clip?

Q2 On a scale 1 to 7, 1 being “not informative at all” and 7 “very informative,” can you tell me how informative you found this video clip?

Not entertaining at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 Very entertaining 7

o

Not informative at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 Very informative 7