2
Citizen use of Internet and traditional news media sources: What’s new about new
media?
Abstract
The increasing popularity of the Internet as a source for news and information has
attracted enormous scholars’ attention. But the question is not yet answered adequately of
whether new media are used as if they are indeed a new medium, or just a new form of
information packaging. This study uses a statewide survey data of Ohio residents to look
at the web sites people visit mostly frequently for news and information and to explore
the relationship of Internet use and traditional media use. Results show that traditional
print and broadcasting media web sites are as popular as the general and specialized
information web sites. In terms of content, most of the news and information in those
web sites duplicates what’s already in the traditional newspapers and TV programs. In
terms of structure, the web does have its advantages over traditional media. Newspaper
users use general information web sites quite a lot to get supplementary information. The
study suggests that what’s new about new media really depends on how new media are
defined.