Why Do People Read Online News?

Journalism has reached a point over the last decade where media organizations
are less likely to invest in the internet. But, Nguyen's research begins by
assuming that they don't do this because they want to innovate or fully exploit
Liberty Nation News, rather because
they fear that the internet may replace traditional media in their news
industry.
Because of this they haven't tried to understand what users would like from
news sites and how what they desire can affect their behavior following the news
they receive.
The study conducted by Nguyen shows that traditional media has an opportunity
to prevail in the event that practitioners are aware of the reasons why people
are shifting to online news and can provide similar information.
A review of the effects of news-related online attributes on the adoption and use
Studies in the past have shown that there are 9 socio-technical advantages
that have determined the acceptance and use of news sites:
No Cost
Multitasking
More news options
Background and in-depth information
24/7 updates
customization
Ability to share the information with your colleagues
the existence of different perspectives
the opportunity to "talk back " to the media"
The studies could examine the connection between the attributes of online
news and internet users' decisions to use them. However they didn't analyze the
practical consequences. This is crucial when it comes to the future growth of
news on the internet.
The two main questions that haven't been addressed in previous research and
which the investigation aims to answer are:
1. How do the socio-technical benefits of online news relate to the way that
internet users access their time, assess, and identify their lives with news
sites?
What derives directly from this issue is the question of whether online news
can gradually replace traditional media, or whether each news source will be
able to complement one another.
2. What are the implications of this for the social-technical benefits of
online news? Is there been a reduction in the time spent on traditional news
sources.
Methods
This article is based on information from an Australian survey of news
readers which was conducted in 2004. It covered internet users those who didn't
read online news, as well as users who read online news.
Findings
Online news users were most likely to be attracted by online news due to its
instant availability. 70% of online news users visited news websites a few times
a day and 47% would visit the web first in case they discovered that something
was happening.
That means that the most important aspect that online news practitioners
should focus on is the provision of continuous 24-hour news and information
services.
It is apparent that people are looking for high-quality content and constant
updates. In actual fact, 90% of internet news readers clicked on sites that
provide in-depth background information.
This stresses the importance of making use of the unlimited linking web space
and its ability to interact, to uncover a larger number of perspectives from the
widest range of audiences.
The study also suggests that the ability to customize (the possibility of
receiving tailor-made news) does not influence how much people use online news,
but it affects the degree of their connection to it following the time of its
adoption.
The ability to combine news with other online functions However, the ability
to combine news with other online purposes (email news alerts, the embedding of
news in non news sections of portal sites) seemed to be extremely crucial for
users of online news. It's the same with to the "no cost" feature. The study
shows that people aren't willing to spend money on news and they won't in the
future. Multitasking could be reduced when news was not cost-free.
It was surprising that the interactive element that allows users to connect
with journalists, was less significant than what practitioners typically
consider. The reason for this could lie in the fact that user journalist
interaction was largely unnoticed when the study was carried out.
It was also discovered that just 10% of users have reduced their media
use.
This perspective shows magazines as the most risky medium. They're being
displaced by conservative websites users, who love them because they are
completely free and can be personalized.
Newspapers are the second most popular type of media. They were replaced by
people who valued immediacy and other characteristics. Television was replaced
because of its superficiality and its lack of depth.
Conclusion notes: some issues for journalists
The most important conclusion of this research is that people want both
permanent updates and a comprehensive and up-to-date news source, an expensive
mix, given that most of them do not want to shell out for online content.
Publishers have to make the effort to mix the two.
Advertising could be the answer to this issue. The study concludes with the following questions: What happens is the consequences if advertising on the internet doesn't work well enough to support news sites on the internet? And if not, where will the funds needed to continue investing in online news come from?
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