ABSTRACT
The newspaper once reigned as the dominant news medium in America. Faded black-and-white movies attest to how family members at breakfast tables read sections of the newspaper, which was as much a part of the meal as coffee and orange juice. There was the evening newspaper, too. In succeeding years, newspapers faced competition from radio and, later, television. Now online news threatens the venerable medium. Newspapers have responded by going online,1 reproducing their print media products on the Web with little regard for the different ways audiences may read and process offline and online news (Thalhimer, 1994). This study explores audience members’ motives and uses of online news and offline newspapers. The study aims to facilitate our understanding of the cognitive and affective responses to offline and online news consumption behavior.
