ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how news audiences perceive media hypes, a topic largely unexplored in extant studies of news hypes. It first elaborates on normative perspectives regarding how citizens should keep informed and relate to the news. Second, it analyses a survey study of a representative sample of the population on their evaluations of media performance during and in relation to a highly salient media hype. It explores how the audience evaluate media performance and what aspects of the hype coverage they emphasize. It finds that the public is overwhelmingly critical towards the media coverage, particularly on the scale (volume) and scope of the news hype, and perceived media bias.
