IMPACT OF ONLINE NEWS ON THE READERSHIP OF HARDCOPY NEWSPAPERS

IMPACT OF ONLINE NEWS ON THE READERSHIP OF HARDCOPY NEWSPAPERS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1        Background of the study

The marriage between the newspaper industry and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has made many, if not all, national newspapers in Nigeria to have online versions (Mbachu, 2003). It is believed that their readership is high as Adedina, Adeniyi and Bolaji (2008) aver that more people read online versions of a newspaper than its hard copy in Nigeria. What these indicate is that online newspapers are viable sources of information in our present day Nigeria. The dictum: “Information is power” suggests that information enhances human development. Human development, according to Anorue, Obayi, and Onyebuchi (2012), is a state of human well being that enables people to gain control of their environments. They point out that the sharing of information among humans through communication is a crucial component of the relationship with the human environment for development purposes. Readership of online newspapers is an information sourcing and sharing activity. The phenomenon of online newspapers is believed to have greatly enhanced information sourcing and sharing activities in several ways. A number of benefits accrue to online newspapers in their information sharing efforts. Online newspapers provide easy, widespread, and timely access to information; allow for interactivity among information users; and enable users to store, share and retrieve their content quickly and easily (Ijeh, 2008; McQuail, 2007). This suggests that people who read online newspapers and use the information provided to gain control of their environment in different ramifications have the likelihood to attain human development than people who do not. In other words, it may be assumed that readership of online newspapers can contribute to human development in Nigeria. News online provides the opportunity to develop a whole new way to present journalism, and Jan Schaffer (2001) of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism suggested that this be done with a “much more interactive toolbox.” Interactivity is one of the things that give the Internet value as a medium. Newspapers can provide in-depth stories, and television gives pictures and