ONLINE NEWS CONSUMPTION

Abstract

While media scholars tend to take “media use” as an indicator of popularity or diffusion, media use alone does not fully capture the complexity of online news consumption. For instance, given free online news offerings in most cases, consumers do not always use what they prefer, and most are not willing to pay for what they use. This study identifies from the literature three distinct factors—preference, use, and paying intent—as well as two key demographic variables—age and gender—each helping to explain a specific facet of online news consumption. While previous research has uncovered a number of relationships among these factors, a holistic model that weaves different empirical findings together is lacking. To address the interplay among the key factors, this study presents two theoretical models via structural equation modeling. The goal is to clarify the interrelationship among preference, use, and paying intent for online news, which helps to explain why most newspapers have difficulties monetizing online usage. Applying new conceptual and methodological approaches, this study synthesizes previous studies and advances research on the economics of online news consumption.