Study: online newspaper reading time increases

Internet users are spending more time reading online newspapers but are also more likely to drop their print subscriptions as they migrate from newsprint to electronic distribution.
Research conducted by the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communications said that Internet users read online newspapers 53 minutes a week, the highest level thus far in the 8-year-old study.
In 2007, users spent about 41 minutes reading online newspapers.
The survey also found that 22 percent of users said they stopped their print subscriptions to a newspaper or magazine because they could access the same content online.
“The most significant trend about how Americans are changing their news reading habits may be found in comparing the use of online media by light users vs. heavy users,” said Center Director Jeffrey I. Cole. “Heavy Internet users spend 65 more minutes per week reading online newspapers than do light users.”
The World Internet Project, created by the Center for the Digital Future, also conducts studies of the impact of online technology in 23 partner countries. And every partner found the same trend in its country: When Internet use reaches 30 percent of the population, print newspaper consumption begins to decline.