International Journal on Media Management, Jan 22, 2015
The rise of news aggregator sites is a notable phenomenon in the contemporary media landscape. Ou... more The rise of news aggregator sites is a notable phenomenon in the contemporary media landscape. Outperforming traditional news outlets for and information, online news aggregators such as Yahoo News, Google News and the Huffington Post have become major sources of news for American audiences. Facing economic hardships, some news organizations cast blames on news aggregators for stealing their content and audiences. However, the relationship between news aggregators and traditional media outlets on the demand side has not received sufficient scholarly attention. Through a national survey of 1,143 U.S. Internet users, this study integrates the uses and gratifications paradigm and an economic approach to predict aggregator consumption and examine market competition. In terms of consumption, among demographic factors, age and ethnicity are the two major predictors of aggregator use. Among psychological factors, opinion motivations is the only non-predictor of aggregator use, suggesting that users do not seek opinion-driven content when they visit aggregator sites. In terms of competition, this study uncovers non-competitive relationships between three major news aggregators and 13 major TV, print and social media news outlets. Such findings are at odds with industry sentiment and the proposed model serves as a basis for further theorizing news aggregator consumption.
The International Journal on Media Management, 2012
Propelled by the recent economic recession that caused substantial declines in advertising revenu... more Propelled by the recent economic recession that caused substantial declines in advertising revenue, some major newspapers have renewed their efforts to find alternative revenue models. This renewed interest in paid content strategy triggered another round of debates on the viability of the “paywall.” To address the recurring industry debate, this study, based on a national survey of 767 U.S. online adults, systematically evaluated users' paying intent for different newspaper formats, the amount they are willing to pay, as well as users' responses to various payment models being considered by the industry. Results showed the print edition outperforms other formats (Web & “apps”) in terms of usage, preference, and paying intent; and is perceived as the most valuable platform. Paying intent for the online formats (Web & apps) was weak, and so was people's response to each of the 6 payment models under study. Therefore, how users are charged does not make much difference—whether they are charged does. The analysis also identified the predictors of paying intent for newspaper formats and different payment models. Although multiplatform news delivery has become a reality, paying intent for digital news content remains elusive.
This study uncovers a universal pattern regarding the oft-misunderstood demand relationship betwe... more This study uncovers a universal pattern regarding the oft-misunderstood demand relationship between online and print products under one newspaper brand. Growing from the portfolio management perspective and building on previous research conducted in the US and Hong Kong, this study examines the newspaper market in Taiwan. Secondary analysis of survey data collected from 7706 Web users confirmed that: (1) the print edition attains a much higher penetration relative to its online counterpart, suggesting that more people would rather consume the print edition over free Web offerings; and (2) compared with the general public, readers of the online edition were more, not less, likely to read the same newspaper's print edition. Such counter-intuitive findings carry important theoretical and managerial implications regarding the management of multiple product offerings under one newspaper brand.
... Previous research suggests that the print newspaper's local nature and the Inter... more ... Previous research suggests that the print newspaper's local nature and the Internet's boundary-transcending capacity enable online newspapers to operate in local and long-distance markets. ... Online Newspapers in the Local Market ...
The International Journal on Media Management, 2012
The diffusion and evolution of the Internet has been mirrored by an evolving science of how to me... more The diffusion and evolution of the Internet has been mirrored by an evolving science of how to measure traffic online. However, after many years of development, Web publishers and online advertisers still find the current metrics are not adequately integrated to provide a holistic picture of audience attention on the Web. This study proposes a conceptual model for measuring attention on the Web on 5 dimensions at 5 different levels of analysis: visibility (share per market), popularity (unique audience per site), loyalty (visits per person), depth (pages per visit), and stickiness (time per page). An empirical analysis of major news and information sites' traffic data identifies distinct attention patterns characterizing different types of Web sites. For example, news portals and television news sites enjoyed the most popularity. Portals and weather sites scored the highest on loyalty. Magazine sites spurred deeper visits (more pages), and weather sites outperformed other sites in terms of stickiness on a per-page basis. This model promises to be commodiously valuable for assessing a Web site's performance on all distinct dimensions of audience attention, selecting the right metrics by which to gauge performance against competitors, and by establishing benchmarks by which that performance can be quantified.
The International Journal on Media Management, 2010
In response to the newspaper crisis, U.S. newspapers are seeking new business models for their on... more In response to the newspaper crisis, U.S. newspapers are seeking new business models for their online operation, but often ignore non-local readers who constitute a non-traditional niche audience with market potential. This study attempts to expand the understanding of the U.S. online newspaper readership in the dual-geographic market by empirically comparing local and long-distance users on demographic characteristics, online behavior, and satisfaction level with the newspaper site. Utilizing a dataset containing 28 newspaper Web sites' 25,964 visitors, this study performed a large-scale, in-depth analysis of online newspapers' long-distance readership unseen in previous research. Results show that more than one fourth of these newspaper sites' online users reside outside the print market. Most long-distance users have personal ties with the geographic area associated with the newspaper. Compared with local users, long-distance users tend to be male, older, better educated, and with a higher income. They are more likely to obtain local sports information from the site, but are less likely to visit the classifieds areas of the site. They also tend to be more loyal to and satisfied with the newspaper site. Newspapers should perceive long-distance users as a potential audience segment rather than an inconvenient truth when developing content, pricing, and marketing strategies.
ABSTRACT A secondary data analysis of 136 U.S. online newspapers' usage reports investiga... more ABSTRACT A secondary data analysis of 136 U.S. online newspapers' usage reports investigates how geography differentiates online newspaper audiences. Results showed that online newspaper penetration is stronger in the local market, but the local market accounts for less than 50% of the overall traffic—suggesting that the size of the long-distance readership is larger than previously anticipated. Larger newspapers tend to attain a larger online audience (in raw numbers), but all newspapers attain a substantial portion of online traffic from outside the print market. Online or not, geography still matters.
This study analyzes the electronic newspaper's market structure. The market is characterized by l... more This study analyzes the electronic newspaper's market structure. The market is characterized by low barriers to entry. Based on the information versus advertising and local versus long-distance distinctions, four submarkets are identified. Within each, competition of different natures (intermedia and intramedia) dominates, yet all four markets fall into the monopolistic competitive market structure, whereas firms compete with one another by product differentiation. Under intermedia competition, we suggest electronic newspapers differentiate themselves from traditional media by developing Internet-related features. Under intramedia competition, content matters more.
A random-sample telephone survey was conducted in Austin, Texas, to investigate the public's resp... more A random-sample telephone survey was conducted in Austin, Texas, to investigate the public's response to local, regional, and national newspapers' print and online editions. Print readership was strongest among readers of that same newspaper's online edition. The substantial overlap of online and print readerships for the local daily suggests the potential of a complementary product relation. The print format was preferred-even among Internet users-when compared with the online edition, other things being equal.
International Journal on Media Management, Jan 22, 2015
The rise of news aggregator sites is a notable phenomenon in the contemporary media landscape. Ou... more The rise of news aggregator sites is a notable phenomenon in the contemporary media landscape. Outperforming traditional news outlets for and information, online news aggregators such as Yahoo News, Google News and the Huffington Post have become major sources of news for American audiences. Facing economic hardships, some news organizations cast blames on news aggregators for stealing their content and audiences. However, the relationship between news aggregators and traditional media outlets on the demand side has not received sufficient scholarly attention. Through a national survey of 1,143 U.S. Internet users, this study integrates the uses and gratifications paradigm and an economic approach to predict aggregator consumption and examine market competition. In terms of consumption, among demographic factors, age and ethnicity are the two major predictors of aggregator use. Among psychological factors, opinion motivations is the only non-predictor of aggregator use, suggesting that users do not seek opinion-driven content when they visit aggregator sites. In terms of competition, this study uncovers non-competitive relationships between three major news aggregators and 13 major TV, print and social media news outlets. Such findings are at odds with industry sentiment and the proposed model serves as a basis for further theorizing news aggregator consumption.
The International Journal on Media Management, 2012
Propelled by the recent economic recession that caused substantial declines in advertising revenu... more Propelled by the recent economic recession that caused substantial declines in advertising revenue, some major newspapers have renewed their efforts to find alternative revenue models. This renewed interest in paid content strategy triggered another round of debates on the viability of the “paywall.” To address the recurring industry debate, this study, based on a national survey of 767 U.S. online adults, systematically evaluated users' paying intent for different newspaper formats, the amount they are willing to pay, as well as users' responses to various payment models being considered by the industry. Results showed the print edition outperforms other formats (Web & “apps”) in terms of usage, preference, and paying intent; and is perceived as the most valuable platform. Paying intent for the online formats (Web & apps) was weak, and so was people's response to each of the 6 payment models under study. Therefore, how users are charged does not make much difference—whether they are charged does. The analysis also identified the predictors of paying intent for newspaper formats and different payment models. Although multiplatform news delivery has become a reality, paying intent for digital news content remains elusive.
This study uncovers a universal pattern regarding the oft-misunderstood demand relationship betwe... more This study uncovers a universal pattern regarding the oft-misunderstood demand relationship between online and print products under one newspaper brand. Growing from the portfolio management perspective and building on previous research conducted in the US and Hong Kong, this study examines the newspaper market in Taiwan. Secondary analysis of survey data collected from 7706 Web users confirmed that: (1) the print edition attains a much higher penetration relative to its online counterpart, suggesting that more people would rather consume the print edition over free Web offerings; and (2) compared with the general public, readers of the online edition were more, not less, likely to read the same newspaper's print edition. Such counter-intuitive findings carry important theoretical and managerial implications regarding the management of multiple product offerings under one newspaper brand.
... Previous research suggests that the print newspaper's local nature and the Inter... more ... Previous research suggests that the print newspaper's local nature and the Internet's boundary-transcending capacity enable online newspapers to operate in local and long-distance markets. ... Online Newspapers in the Local Market ...
The International Journal on Media Management, 2012
The diffusion and evolution of the Internet has been mirrored by an evolving science of how to me... more The diffusion and evolution of the Internet has been mirrored by an evolving science of how to measure traffic online. However, after many years of development, Web publishers and online advertisers still find the current metrics are not adequately integrated to provide a holistic picture of audience attention on the Web. This study proposes a conceptual model for measuring attention on the Web on 5 dimensions at 5 different levels of analysis: visibility (share per market), popularity (unique audience per site), loyalty (visits per person), depth (pages per visit), and stickiness (time per page). An empirical analysis of major news and information sites' traffic data identifies distinct attention patterns characterizing different types of Web sites. For example, news portals and television news sites enjoyed the most popularity. Portals and weather sites scored the highest on loyalty. Magazine sites spurred deeper visits (more pages), and weather sites outperformed other sites in terms of stickiness on a per-page basis. This model promises to be commodiously valuable for assessing a Web site's performance on all distinct dimensions of audience attention, selecting the right metrics by which to gauge performance against competitors, and by establishing benchmarks by which that performance can be quantified.
The International Journal on Media Management, 2010
In response to the newspaper crisis, U.S. newspapers are seeking new business models for their on... more In response to the newspaper crisis, U.S. newspapers are seeking new business models for their online operation, but often ignore non-local readers who constitute a non-traditional niche audience with market potential. This study attempts to expand the understanding of the U.S. online newspaper readership in the dual-geographic market by empirically comparing local and long-distance users on demographic characteristics, online behavior, and satisfaction level with the newspaper site. Utilizing a dataset containing 28 newspaper Web sites' 25,964 visitors, this study performed a large-scale, in-depth analysis of online newspapers' long-distance readership unseen in previous research. Results show that more than one fourth of these newspaper sites' online users reside outside the print market. Most long-distance users have personal ties with the geographic area associated with the newspaper. Compared with local users, long-distance users tend to be male, older, better educated, and with a higher income. They are more likely to obtain local sports information from the site, but are less likely to visit the classifieds areas of the site. They also tend to be more loyal to and satisfied with the newspaper site. Newspapers should perceive long-distance users as a potential audience segment rather than an inconvenient truth when developing content, pricing, and marketing strategies.
ABSTRACT A secondary data analysis of 136 U.S. online newspapers' usage reports investiga... more ABSTRACT A secondary data analysis of 136 U.S. online newspapers' usage reports investigates how geography differentiates online newspaper audiences. Results showed that online newspaper penetration is stronger in the local market, but the local market accounts for less than 50% of the overall traffic—suggesting that the size of the long-distance readership is larger than previously anticipated. Larger newspapers tend to attain a larger online audience (in raw numbers), but all newspapers attain a substantial portion of online traffic from outside the print market. Online or not, geography still matters.
This study analyzes the electronic newspaper's market structure. The market is characterized by l... more This study analyzes the electronic newspaper's market structure. The market is characterized by low barriers to entry. Based on the information versus advertising and local versus long-distance distinctions, four submarkets are identified. Within each, competition of different natures (intermedia and intramedia) dominates, yet all four markets fall into the monopolistic competitive market structure, whereas firms compete with one another by product differentiation. Under intermedia competition, we suggest electronic newspapers differentiate themselves from traditional media by developing Internet-related features. Under intramedia competition, content matters more.
A random-sample telephone survey was conducted in Austin, Texas, to investigate the public's resp... more A random-sample telephone survey was conducted in Austin, Texas, to investigate the public's response to local, regional, and national newspapers' print and online editions. Print readership was strongest among readers of that same newspaper's online edition. The substantial overlap of online and print readerships for the local daily suggests the potential of a complementary product relation. The print format was preferred-even among Internet users-when compared with the online edition, other things being equal.
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