TRUST AND CREDIBILITY OF URBAN YOUTH ON ONLINE NEWS MEDIA

When the internet was introduced, there were comparatively fewwebsites, especially news websites. today, new media technology’sdrastic developments in the communications field have had a bigimpact on society at large. the development and larger availabilityof information and activities seem to offer people the opportunityof quick access, and systematically providing, in seconds, whatwould have previously taken months of perusing newspaper stacksof microfilm rolls (deacon, 2007). these features supersede themore traditional print medium in terms of delivering news withimmediacy and impact, and act as a powerful lure that continuallydraws readers. this paper investigates online consumer behaviourwith regards to student perceptions of the trust and credibility ofonline news. from a survey of 1,000 students of institutions ofhigher education in the klang valley, findings reveal that youthstill rely on traditional media to obtain news. however, traditionalmedia fails to provide sufficient information for youth so theyresort to getting additional information from alternative newswebsites. nevertheless, their level of trust in alternative newswebsites is based on how accurately these sites reflect the currentscenario. findings also reveal that students believe alternativenews websites present different viewpoints, are more critical, havemore in-depth analysis and are relatively free from interference.all these factors seemingly contribute to youth’s trust of thealternative news websites they read. what is interesting is thefact that the trust extends to alternative online news sources butexcludes blogs and the findings clearly show that the youth are notweaned off of traditional media.