Content-Type: text/html

        	



From Here to Obscurity: Media Substitution Theory and the Internet








Barbara K. Kaye, Ph.D.
Department of Communication Arts
Valdosta State University
1500 N. Patterson St.
Valdosta, GA 31698
<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0101B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D8001950%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_5197320%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>
912-259-5115



Thomas J. Johnson, Ph.D.
School of Journalism
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901
<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0101B%26L%3DAEJMC%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D8001950%26B%3D--%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D%253D_5197320%253D%253D_%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Diso-8859-1" >[log in to unmask]</a>






Submitted for consideration to the Mass Communication and Society Division of AEJMC - 2000.












From Here to Obscurity: Media Substitution Theory and the Internet

The arrival of television in the mid to late 1940s sparked fears among radio executives that listeners would abandon radio for the new medium that offered pictures as well as sound - a fear that was well founded.  By the late 1940s, television had raided radio of many of its top programs and stars, the radio networks virtually disappeared from the scene and ratings dropped precipitously.  Only after radio made several adjustments and accommodations did it begin to regain its audience (Sterling & Kittross, 1990).
        The meteoric growth of Internet, which has been transformed within a decade from a medium largely unknown outside a handful of academics to one deemed as one of life's necessities by half of the online users (San Jose Mercury News, 1998), has created fears among the traditional news media, particularly television, that the public would abandon the traditional press for its online counterpart.  Evidence, however, is mixed on whether the Internet cuts into time devoted to television and other media, has little effect on media use or may actually spur people to use more media.
        While several scholars and polling organizations have examined whether the Internet replaces or complements traditional media, little attention has been paid to what factors explain whether people will increase or decrease their traditional media use after going online, particularly for those seeking out political information.
        This study will employ a survey of politically interested Internet users to examine whether traditional media use is declining, increasing or remaining unchanged since people went online and what factors predict effects on traditional media use.  More specifically, this study will examine how well demographic, political and media use variables predict changes in traditional media use among those who go online.



Media Substitution Theory
        Researchers have noted that new technologies such as the Internet may save time in completing certain tasks, but they also steal time from other activities.  The Internet's potential to divert time away from traditional media has raised fears that revenues for traditional media will decline as audiences turn to the Internet (Perse, & Dunn, 1998).  Time spent on new technologies such as the Internet also could create social costs by funneling away time spent on other valuable activities.  For instance, GVU (1998) found that at least one third of respondents reduced the time they spent sleeping, exercising, reading and doing housework on at least a weekly basis.  Similarly, Stanford University (SIQSS, 2000) found that one quarter of those who use the Internet five or more hours a week report spending less time with family and friends and 10 percent say they spend less time attending social events outside the home.1
        Several researchers have advanced a media substitution theory that suggests that when an individual acquires a new technology such as a computer or the Internet they must redistribute the time they allocate to other activities and establish new patterns of behavior (Vitalari, Venkatesh & Gronhaug, 1985).  More specifically, studies suggest that new technologies will displace the time devoted to traditional media that are functionally similar if the new technologies are perceived to have relative advantages over the earlier technology (Atkin, Jeffres, & Neuendorf, 1998; Kang & Atkin, 1999).  Furthermore, the Internet and other new media will displace traditional media if they can deliver services and content more efficiently, attractively or conveniently (Lin, 1994). The media substitution theory assumes, then, that when people can satisfy needs with more than one media outlet that they will be able to evaluate, rank order them and select the option that they believe best gratifies their needs (Jeffres, 1978). For instance, television replaced radio as the most widely adopted form of mass entertainment media (Lasswell, 1948) because it provided pictures as well as sound.  Similarly, staying home to watch movies on VCRs cut into time spent going out to see movies because VCRs made the movie-watching experience more convenient and efficient (Childers & Krugman, 1987; Henke & Donohue, 1989; Lin, 1993).
        On the other hand, a new technology is less likely to reduce the time spent with a medium that is functionally dissimilar.  Indeed, the new technology might supplement or complement the existing one.  For instance, television news and newspapers complement each other.  People tend to use television for general information, while they employ newspapers for more specific information seeking, for in-depth knowledge about a subject and guidance at election time (Weaver & Buddenbaum, 1979).  Similarly, while VCRs may reduce trips to the movie theater, it complements the television viewing experience as one can use the VCR to tape a favorite show to watch at a more convenient time (Lin, 1993).

Internet and the Media Substitution Hypothesis
        Like television before it, observers feared that the Internet would cut time devoted to the traditional media.  However, there is little evidence that the Internet is taking time away from media that are not functionally similar to it such as newspapers, magazines and radio.  Indeed, Bromley and Bowles (1995) found virtually no effect with about 83 percent saying they used the newspaper the same amount of time and 90 percent saying the same of radio.  Similarly, the Pew Research Center found that most people reported using other sources the same since going online (63 percent), although the percentage who said they use other sources more (16 percent) topped those who said they use other sources less (11 percent).  Finally, a five-year forecast of the communication industry said that consumers will be devoting more time to music, books and movies and only slightly less time to newspapers and magazines in the near future because the Internet will "cannibalize retail shopping and leave people with more time with media" (Lieberman, 1999).
        Most of the research examining whether or not the Internet is stealing time away from the traditional media has centered on television.  Television is structurally similar to the Internet; scholars have described the Internet as a cross between television and the computer (Kaye & Medoff, 1999).  Increasingly the gap between the television and the Internet is narrowing as more individuals are surfing the Web through their television set rather than their computer ("Internet May Change," 2000).  Also, people may be motivated to use the Internet for the same reasons they turn on television.  Studies that have examined motives for Internet use in general find that like television, the Internet tends to satisfy entertainment, escape and social interaction needs (Kaye, 1998; Eighmey, 1997; Lin, 1998; Kang & Atkin, 1999).  For instance, Kaye (1998) found that when she subjected 30 reasons for using the Internet to factor analysis, six factors emerged: entertainment, social interaction, passing time, escape, information and Web site preference. 
        Researchers differ on whether people are increasingly turning off the television in favor of the Internet.  Some studies find that those who are surfing on the Internet are spending less time surfing channels on television. For instance, a Nielsen Media Research Study found that homes with Internet access are 15 percent less likely to watch television than those without Internet access (ZDnet, 1998). Other studies have put the percentage drop in television viewing between 18 and 37 percent (Bromley & Bowles, 1995; Kaye, 1998; "Internet Eats Into," 1996; "Why Internet Advertising," 1997).  However, two leading surveys found dramatic drops in media use for those who go online. GVU's 10th WWW User Survey (1998) found that 55.4% said they watch less television daily and 24.8% claimed they watched less television weekly since going online, a jump of more than 20 percent since the year before (GVU's 7th WWW User Survey, 1997).  The Stanford study (SIQSS, 2000) discovered that 60 percent of those who used the Internet 10 hours a week say they spend less time watching television while one third say they spend less time reading newspapers.
        However, some studies have discovered that the Internet has little impact on television watching (Jessell, 1995; Jeffres & Atkin, 1996).  For instance, a study by Turner Entertainment Networks discovered that less than 2 percent of people with Internet access spend less time watching television. If the Internet does reduce time spent with television it is among those who watched little television in the first place (Wired News, 1999) as Internet users tend to be wealthier and better educated (Dutton et al., 1987), two characteristics associated with low television viewing.  
        A few studies have found that media use actually increases as people go online (Hansell, 1998; Pew Research, 1999; Lieberman, 1999; Arbitron, 1999).  A study by Discovery Networks found that as households began to use the Internet, television use by teenagers dropped but use by everyone else increased.  Similarly an MTV Networks study found "media consumption leads to more media consumption.  People don't quit watching because they go online.  They do more of both"  (Hansell, 1998). This may be particularly true of heavy Internet users (Arbitron New Media, 1999). Other researchers suggest that the Internet does not take time away from other media use, but instead will "cannibalize" time spent on certain actions such as shopping and free up time for media use (Lieberman, 1999).  
        Studies that have examined how computer use in general affects television viewing have done little to clear up the muddle.  Some studies suggest that home computer use reduced time spent with television.  For instance, Rogers (1985) discovered that about 40 percent of his sample of highly educated computer owners reported that their television use declined about 1.5 hours a day.  Similarly, Vitalari, Venkatesh, and Gronhaug (1985) discovered that two thirds of their sample reported that they watched less television.
        However, Perse and Dunn (1998) contend that such results do not prove that computer use has long-term effects on television viewing.  Earlier adopters tend to be wealthier and better educated, two factors associated with low television viewing (Dutton et al, 1987).  Furthermore, the findings might signal a novelty effect.  A person in the short-term may increase computer use at the expense of other media, but as the novelty wears off, then they return to more typical media use patterns (Perse, & Dunn, 1998).  Such a novelty effect was found for cable television (Weimann, 1996; Sparkes & Kang, 1986).  Similarly, the introduction of television severely interrupted media use patterns for about six years before time spent with other media gradually recovered (Coffin, 1995).  Indeed, Perse and Dunn (1998) found that computer  users watched less television and cable than nonowners but that they were also more highly educated and wealthier than nonowners which accounted for their drops in television use.
        Most of the research has examined how Internet use affects television use in general.  Few studies have examined how Internet use affects relying on the media for political information, but those studies suggest that the Internet supplements rather than replaces traditional media.  The Pew Research Center discovered that almost two-thirds of Internet users (64 percent) watched television news "the day before" and more than half (51 percent) read a newspaper.  Those who went online were more likely than nonusers to both read a paper (51 to 45 percent) and listen to the radio (48 percent to 37 percent), even after controlling for education and income.  Studies by the Freedom Forum suggest that people who have visited politically-oriented Web sites are political junkies, watching CNN, Sunday public affairs programs and C-SPAN, and reading more newsmagazines than the average voter.  They are also more than twice as likely to have read a political book in the last year (Cybercampaigns Preach, 1996).  Finally, Hughes (2000) found that going online for politics led to increased newspaper readership, but not television news use.

Factors influencing media substitution
        Most studies are content to answer the question of whether the Internet is cutting into time spent with the media.  Few have taken the next step and examined what factors influence whether the Internet will supplement or replace traditional media.  
        The GVU 10th WWW Survey discovered that the youngest (11-20) and the oldest (50+) surfers were more likely than other age groups to rely on the Internet rather than television on a daily basis.  Gender was unrelated to substituting the Internet for television.  The study offered conflicting information on the degree to which Internet experience affected whether or not people watched television less.  Those who had been online for four years were less likely to have cut down their television viewing on a daily basis than those who had been online for less than one year (52.0% to 65.3%), which might support the findings of others of a novelty effect for a new technology.  On the other hand, those who judged themselves Internet experts were more likely to have turned away from television than those who considered themselves novices (61.1% to 48.8%).  The GVU study examined the Internet's effect on participating in other activities, but did not explore other media.
        While studies offer conflicting information on whether heavy Internet use reduces time spend with television (SIQSS, 2000) or not (Arbitron New Media, 1999), heavy Internet users are more likely to use the Internet to supplement traditional media use, particularly for news, than to replace it.  For instance, the Pew Research Center (1999) discovered that three quarters of heavy Internet users still get most of their information from traditional sources, and Jupiter Communications found that broadcast media remain the dominant source for news (Jupiter Communications, 1998). Several studies have suggested that Internet consumption leads to more traditional media consumption (Arbitron New Media, 1999; and vice versa (Atkin, Jeffres  & Neuendorf, 1998).    One reason that heavy Internet use might be correlated with using more traditional media is that characteristics associated with heavy Internet use, such as a high income and high levels of education, are also associated with heavy media use, particularly newspaper use (e.g., Chaffee & Frank, 1996; Weaver, 1996).
        No studies have been found that have examined the link between political attitudes and whether Internet use leads to more or less traditional media use.  But those who are politically interested Internet users tend to be news junkies who seek out political information from a variety of sources ("Cybercampaigns Preach," 1996).  Similarly, just as studies suggest that heavy Internet use increases time spent with traditional news media, researchers have found that heavy Internet use is linked to several political attitudes. Internet users are more politically knowledgeable than the average citizen (Hill & Hughes, 1998; Bonchek, 1997).  In addition, Web users are politically interested and active (Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Johnson & Kaye, 2000; Bimber, 1997; Bucy, D'Angelo, & Newhagen, 1997; GVU, 1998; Bonchek, Hurwitz, & Mallery, 1996), report high levels of political efficacy, (Bonchek, 1997) are more likely to vote, (Hill & Hughes, 1998; Bimber, 1997; Katz, 1997) and more likely to seek out information from the media (Hill & Hughes, 1998) than the general public. Furthermore, politically active Internet users score higher on these measures than general users (Hill & Hughes, 1998).  
An individual's motives for relying on the media may also influence whether Internet use is likely to increase or replace traditional media.  Rubin (1983) found that those who purposefully use a medium for information or entertainment reasons are likely to remain loyal to that medium. However, those who seek more ritualized gratifications, such as escapism and habitual viewing, are less concerned with content, and therefore are more likely to switch between various media. In particular, those who employ the media for surveillance may be less likely to reduce traditional media use after going online.  As noted, earlier those who rely on the Internet for political information tend to be news junkies who seek out information from a variety of media sources (Cybercampaigns Preach, 1996).  The Internet simply provides an additional avenue for them to seek out political information.

Research Questions
Based on past research regarding media substitution and Internet use, this study asks the following research questions:


RQ1 Is the Web supplanting or supplementing traditional media as a source of political information?

RQ2 Do demographics, trust in government, time spent online, media reliance, and Internet gratifications correlate with whether the Internet will supplant or replace traditional media?

RQ3 Do demographics, trust in the government, time spent online, media reliance and Internet gratifications predict whether the Internet will supplant or replace traditional media? 


Method
         This study is based on an online survey designed to attract politically interested Web users. The survey was posted on the World Wide Web from October 23 to November 20, which were the two weeks before and the two weeks after the 1996 presidential election. The survey was linked to other politically oriented Web sites and notices were sent to media and politically oriented discussion groups, forums, Usenet newsgroups and electronic mailing lists to inform them of the survey. In addition to asking political sites to provide links to the survey, the survey's URL was posted to Submit It, an online site that registers URLs with many of the major search services. 
The intention of the online survey was to attract politically interested Web users who would be more familiar with online political sources rather than drawing a random sample of online users who may not be interested in politics. While this is a convenience sample, demographic comparisons with other online surveys, as well as with ones conducted by more traditional non-online methods, suggest the sample may be representative of the Internet population.2
The dependent variable was measured by asking respondents whether the time they spend looking for political information from traditional media (television news, newspapers, and news magazines), the Internet, and discussion has "greatly decreased," "decreased" "stayed the same," "increased," or  "greatly increased", since becoming a Web user.  
The independent variables used in this study are trust in government, Internet use, reliance on political news sources, Internet gratifications, and demographics.  
Trust:  Past research indicates that people with low levels of trust in the government are more likely to use the Internet as an alternative means of obtaining political information (Bonchek, 1997; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Katz, 1997).  Therefore, a summated index measuring trust in the government was made up of the following items from the National Election Studies conducted by the University of Michigan: "Most of our leaders are devoted to service," "Politicians never tell us what they really think," and "I don't think public officials care much about what people like me think." The response options for the trust index ranged from "strongly disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (5).  The polarity was reversed on the second and third statements.
Web Use: Scholars debate whether the time users spend online is time taken away from other media. Some studies indicate that the Internet is eroding broadcast and print audiences while other research claims otherwise.  Therefore, respondents were asked to enter in the number of hours per week on average they "spend on the Web in general," and "spend on the Web accessing political sites." 
Source reliance: Reliance on traditional media has been linked with media use.  The more people use a medium the more they begin to rely on it. Therefore, respondents were asked to judge on a five-point scale: "How much do you rely on the following sources (newspapers, news magazines, television news, and discussion) for your political information?"  Responses ranged from "don't rely at all" to "heavily rely on."
Internet Gratifications: Gratifications research suggests that individuals who purposefully use a medium for information or entertainment reasons are unlikely to switch to another medium. Habitual users, however, are not as concerned with content, and therefore are more likely to switch between various media. This study examines the role that Internet gratifications play in the supplanting and supplementing of traditional media for political information since respondents became online users. 
The primary reasons for using the Internet were obtained from a previous study (Kaye & Johnson, 1998). Factor analysis was conducted on Web use statements derived from past uses and gratifications studies (Kaye, 1998; McLeod & Becker, 1974; McLeod & Becker, 1981)3  to determine the main reasons why the Web is accessed for political information. Analysis identified the top four4 reasons for using the Internet: surveillance/guidance, information seeking, entertainment, and social utility. Summated indexes of each factor were correlated with traditional media use and discussion. 
Demographics:  Past studies suggest that older males with higher incomes and higher levels of education are the most likely to use the Internet and to decrease their use of traditional media (American Internet User Survey, 1997; GVU's 7thWWW User Survey, 1997; "GVU's 10th User Survey," 1998).
  Therefore, this study employed measures of age, gender, income and education5 to obtain a demographic profile of the respondents.
This study employed correlation and regression analyses. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine relationships between increasing or decreasing usage of traditional media for political information and demographics (age, income, gender, education), trust in the government, amount of Web use (general use and political information seeking), degree of reliance on traditional media (television news, newspapers, news magazines), discussion, and the Internet, and Internet gratifications.
        Regression analyses examined the extent to which demographics, trust in the government, amount of Web use, degree of reliance on traditional media, discussion, and the Internet, and motivations for using the Internet predict the amount of time spent using traditional media for political information. The predictors were entered as one block using stepwise analyses.  Statistical tests were conducted to ascertain significance.
         
Results
 Profile of Politically Interested Internet Users
        A total of 308 individuals completed the survey during the four-week period.  Respondents spend an average of 13.2 hours per week on the Web; three of those hours are spent seeking online political information. Overall, three-quarters (75.5%) of the respondents browse the Web between 10-20 hours per week on average.
Public trust in politics and in politicians has been waning for several decades. Internet boosters tout the medium as a means of increasing trust in the government, while those who are less enthused with the medium claim that those who distrust the government are more likely to use the Web.  This latter scenario is supported as almost nine out of ten respondents reported low to moderate levels of trust in the government.
         Slightly more than one half (51 percent) of the 308 respondents say they rely on or heavily rely on the Web to keep an eye on politics. Only 3.9 percent of those surveyed do not rely on the Web for political information.  Reliance on traditional media for political information is not as strong as reliance on the Web. Just over four out 10 (46.1%) of the respondents reported that they turn to printed newspapers to keep politically up-to-date.   About one in four respondents (26.9%) rely on television news and another one-quarter (25.0%) rely on news magazines to find out about politics.  
        Similar to other surveys, this one suggests that Internet users tend to be young white males with high education and high socioeconomic status.6 The average age of respondents is 31.2, and males comprise three-quarters (75.5%) of those surveyed.  Almost nine out of ten (88.3%) respondents are white. Six out of ten have a college degree or higher and slightly less than half (45.1%) report an annual income between $25,001-$65,000.

Has the Internet Supplanted Media Use?
        The first research question asked whether the Internet has supplanted or complemented traditional media use for political information. In other words, do online users turn to traditional media more or less often after discovering the Internet? Findings suggest that in general the Internet is taking time away from other media, but it may promote political discussion.
        The findings indicate that television news has been hurt most by the advent of the Internet as 40.0% turn to it less frequently than in the past.  Respondents also report spending less time with newspapers and news magazines though not to the same extent as television news. Almost three out of ten respondents (28.0%) have cut back on the amount of time they spend reading newspapers for political information, and just over one-quarter (26.7%) spend less time with news magazines.  While the Internet may be supplanting traditional media, findings suggest that it fosters discussion.  Slightly more than one-half (55.9%) of the respondents claim that since becoming Internet users the time they spend discussing political issues has increased (Table 1). 

The Internet and Media Use
The second research question focuses on the relationship between time spent with traditional media, the Internet, and discussion, and the respondents' demographics, trust in government, amount of Web use, reliance on sources of political news, and Internet gratifications. Significant associations were found between time spent with media and the independent variables in 41 out of 64 instances (Table 1).
The amount of media respondents use for political information since going online was most strongly associated with reliance on the media.  For example, reliance on television news is strongly (r =.47, p<.001) correlated with an increase in using television news for political information since individuals have gone online.  In other words, the more respondents rely on television news the more they use it since becoming Internet users.  However, reliance on one medium is often associated with use of another medium.  For example, reliance on newspapers is strongly and positively associated with the time Internet users spend with television news, and news magazines, as well as with newspapers. 
The second research question specifically asks whether the Internet is associated with increasing or decreasing amounts of time spent with political information sources.  Reliance on the Web is significantly associated with a decrease in the amount of time Internet users spend with television news, newspapers and news magazines.  The more users come to rely on the Web as a source of political information the less time they spend with television news and printed news sources.  However, reliance on the Web is strongly and significantly associated at the p. <.001 level with the increase in the amount of time Internet users spend discussing politics.
Internet gratifications are also strongly associated with Internet users' traditional media use. Since becoming Internet users, respondents who go online to satisfy surveillance needs spend significantly less time watching television news and reading news magazines for political information, and their newspaper reading has also declined.  While these Internet users have decreased their use of traditional media, they have increased their use of discussion to satisfy their surveillance needs. Apparently, online content contains more in-depth political analysis and together with discussion provides greater satisfaction of surveillance needs than do television news, newspapers, and news magazines. 
Those who access the Internet primarily for information gathering purposes spend significantly less time watching television news, and reading newspapers, and somewhat less time reading newsmagazines, suggesting that these respondents may be replacing television and traditional print media with the Internet.  However, individuals who go online for entertainment purposes are spending significantly more time reading newspapers and to a lesser degree reading news magazines and watching television news since they first became online users. These findings indicate that when gratifying information needs online users are substituting television, newspapers and news magazines in favor of the Internet, however, when gratifying entertainment needs they still turn to traditional media. In many cases it is easier to access specific political information online than to sift through back issues of a print medium or to wait for a television newscast, thus the Internet is a quicker, easier and more convenient way of finding political facts.  But when it comes to satisfying entertainment needs, politically interested respondents have increased their newspaper use since going online while the Internet has had little effect on television and news magazine use. This suggests that newspapers and the Internet serve different functions for the users: They go online to be entertained and are increasingly turning to newspapers for information.
Information and entertainment needs both strongly and significantly promote discussion. Since becoming Internet users, individuals who go online to satisfy information and entertainment needs are spending more time discussing politics with friends and family.  For these people, the Internet acts a catalyst for discussing informative and entertaining political events. 
Politically interested individuals who access the Internet to satisfy social utility needs are spending significantly less time watching television news and significantly more time discussing politics.  Additionally, the time they spend reading newspapers and news magazines has also decreased, but these results are not significant. It seems that the Internet is supplanting traditional media for those who desire more social interaction, and at the same time it is supplementing political discussion.  
In general, traditional media are more likely to be replaced with the Internet by individuals who go online to satisfy surveillance, information, and social utility needs. When seeking political information the Internet is in many cases a strong substitute for traditional media.  However, traditional media can still satisfy entertainment needs more readily than the Internet. Politically interested individuals who turn to the Internet to be entertained are finding that their needs are more likely to be met when using traditional media and therefore are unlikely to replace these media with the Internet. Additionally, all the gratifications strongly and significantly promote discussion at the p. <.001 level. Whether motivated by surveillance, information, entertainment, or social utility needs, since the respondents became online users the amount of time they spend discussing politics has increased.  Again, the Internet seems to complement and increase political discussion (Table 2).
The amount of time users spend on the Web is also significantly associated with the amount of time they spend with other political sources.  The number of hours per week that users spend online in general is significantly and negatively associated with the amount of time they spend watching television news, and reading newspapers and news magazines since discovering the Internet.    The number of hours per week that users spend on political sites and accessing political information is also significantly and negatively associated with the amount of time they spend gaining political knowledge from television news, and newspapers. However, hours per week on political sites is strongly and significantly related to an increase in the amount of time that users spend discussing politics with friends and family.  These findings indicate that the Internet is supplanting media use for political information.  The Internet seems to foster personal discussion while at the same time it detracts from traditional media (Table 2). 
In addition to the Internet's association with time spent with political sources, trust in the government, age, education, and income are also significantly associated with time.  Trust in the government is significantly and positively associated with Internet users' increased time spent with television news, newspapers, and news magazines for political information.  Trust in the government is also negatively, though not significantly, associated with the amount of time Internet users spend discussing politics.  The less trust Internet users put in the government the more time they spend in discussion.  In general, the more respondents trust the government the less likely they are to supplant traditional media use with the Internet.  This finding is similar to past studies that show that online users with less trust in the government are more likely to turn to the Internet for political information. 
Age, education, and income are significantly and negatively associated with the number of hours respondents spend with political sources since becoming online users.  Older Internet users spend significantly less time accessing political information from the Web and from news magazines than their younger counterparts.  Older respondents have also shied away from television news and newspapers as venues for political information since becoming Internet users. Higher educated, politically interested Internet users spend significantly less time discussing politics with friends and family, and less time with newspapers.  However, the higher educated respondents tend to spend more time with television news and news magazines since they started using the Internet, although the relationship is not significant.  Lastly, Internet users with high incomes spend significantly less time with television news and news magazines for political information than before they became Internet users (Table 2). 

The Internet as a Predictor of Time Spent with Political Sources
        Regression analysis reveals that in some cases the Net predicts the amount of time online users are spending with other sources, and therefore whether these other sources are being
supplanted or supplemented with online information since the respondents began using the Internet.  Reliance measures are the strongest predictors of the amount of time users spend seeking political information from other sources since going online (Table 3). 
Clearly, relying on a traditional medium is the strongest predictor of using that medium since respondents started using the Internet.  For example reliance on newspapers is significantly related (beta = .45) to increasing use of newspapers.  
Reliance on news magazines is the only measure that predicts increasing or decreasing use of more than one medium. Reliance on news magazines is a significant and strong predictor of increasing use of television news and news magazines since the respondents began using the Internet (Table 3). 
  Although reliance on the Internet is not a significant predictor of time spent online accessing political sites or time spent discussing politics, it does indicate that online users are spending less time with traditional media and more time with discussion since they started using the Internet. The Web seems to contribute to political discussion but it takes viewers and readers away from more traditional political sources. 
While time on political sites predicts increasing amount of time spent in political discussion since individuals start using the Internet, time spent on the Web in general is not a predictor. Although amount of Web use is strongly correlated with increasing and decreasing amounts of time spent with traditional political sources, it does not predict whether the Internet supplants or complements traditional sources after controlling for demographic, political, media reliance and gratification factors.
Although Internet gratifications are strongly correlated with media use they do not predict whether the Internet is supplanting or supplementing traditional media and discussion. None of the betas were significant.  Interestingly, though, while the correlations found that those with surveillance and newspaper needs have cut their time spent with newspapers, the regression equation suggests that after controlling for reliance on the media and other factors, time spent with newspapers has increased since going online.  However, the relationships were not significant. 
        Demographic characteristics are generally not predictors of whether Internet use is supplanting and/or supplementing traditional media, the Internet, and discussion to keep abreast of political events.  Income is the only significant predictor, with time spent with television news decreasing since wealthier individuals began accessing the Internet. Since previous research indicates that those users who make more money tend to use the Internet more frequently and are more educated than those with lower incomes, it follows that more upscale users are replacing television news with online information.
Although not significant, regression trends indicate that older Internet users tend to turn to television news for politics with greater frequency since going online than younger users who spend more time online seeking political information.  This finding is consistent with previous studies that also suggest that older people are more likely to watch television news than younger people who prefer to access information online. Older users are unlikely to replace their television news viewing time with online viewing.  However, television news, and to a lesser degree newspapers and news magazines, may be being supplanted by Internet users with higher incomes. In general, since younger, wealthier individuals started using the Internet they have been supplanting television news with the Web for their political information, although only the relationship between income and television news is significant (Table 3).

Discussion
        The dramatic growth of the Internet from a largely unknown medium to one deemed integral to daily life has created fears among those in the traditional news media, particularly television, that the public would abandon the traditional press for its online counterpart.  Evidence, however, is mixed on whether the Internet cuts into time devoted to television and other media, has little effect on media use or may actually spur people to use more media.  Few researchers have examined what factors determine whether the Internet will supplement or supplant traditional media use. Also, while most studies have looked at the effects of the Internet on media use in general, little attention has been paid on whether individuals are relying on the traditional media for political information less since adopting the Internet.
        This study found that generally people have cut back on their traditional media use since going online.  However, time spent with the Internet appears to act as a catalyst to promote political discussion.  Also, among certain groups traditional media use has actually increased since people have adopted the Internet.  
        The Internet has had its greatest effect on television news use as 40 percent say they have cut back on their television news viewing since going online.  Newspaper and news magazine use has also declined, though not as severely as television news (28% and 26.7% respectively).  Similarly hours per week on the Web, hours per week on political sites and reliance on the Web all correlated with decreased use of traditional media. This study, then, supports several others who have found that those who surf the Web are spending less time clicking their television remotes (ZDnet, 1998; Bromley & Bowles, 1995; Kaye, 1998; "Internet Eats Into," 1996; "Why Internet Advertising," 1997; GVU's 1998;  SIQSS, 2000).
These findings also lend support to the media substitution hypothesis that claims that a new technology will most likely cut into time available to media that are functionally similar. Television is structurally similar to the Internet; scholars have described the Internet as a cross between television and the computer (Kaye & Medoff, 1999).  Also, people may be motivated to use the Internet for the same reasons they rely on television.  Studies that have examined motives for Internet use find that like television, the Internet tends to satisfy entertainment, escape and social interaction needs (Kaye, 1998; Eighmey, 1997; Lin, 1998).  
        However, this study was conducted in 1996, when people were first beginning to rush to the Internet.  Studies suggest that when a new technology is first introduced, people may initially abandon older ones, but return to them as the novelty wears off (Perse & Dunn, 1998).  Perhaps if this study were conducted more recently, the decline in traditional use would not have been as pronounced.  It should also be noted that even though people are more likely to say that time spent with traditional media has decreased rather than increased since going online, the majority of people use traditional media just as much as before they adopted the Internet. For the majority of those who have gone online, then, they have not altered their traditional media habits.
        While the Internet tends to supplant more than to supplement traditional media use, it appears to promote political discussion. More than half of the respondents (55.9%) said that their time spent discussing politics with friends and family has actually increased since going online.  The Internet, then, clearly complements political discussion. Users find that Internet is a quick, easy and convenient way of finding political facts that individuals can then employ in political discussions with friends and family.  The relatively strong (.28) correlation between social utility and amount of time discussing politics since going online also demonstrates that people are using the Internet to give them ammunition in political discussions and debates.  The finding that Internet use seems to spur political discussion also appears to dispel fears that Internet use creates social isolation (SIQSS, 2000).  People are not retreating to their homes to dig up political information on the Internet solely for their personal use, but are increasingly using that information to engage friends and family in discussion and debate.
        While this study suggests that in general the Internet has supplanted traditional media use, the research also found that for certain groups, primarily those who rely heavily on traditional media and those who trust the government, the Internet has actually spurred increased use of mainstream media.
        Heavy reliance on traditional media led to increased use after individuals began using the Internet.  Eighteen of the 20 correlations between reliance on mainstream media and increased use of the media proved significant.  In particular, reliance on one medium was linked to increased use of that same medium with correlations posted at the .50 level.  Indeed, these reliance measures proved the only consistent predictors of whether Internet supplanted or complemented traditional media use once other factors were controlled for.  These results support earlier studies that suggest that the more people use a medium the more they are going to rely upon it (Chaffee & Schleuder, 1986; McLeod & McDonald, 1985) and judge the information there to be credible (Wanta & Hu, 1994;  Westley & Severin, 1964; Greenberg, 1966; American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1985). 
        This study also found that reliance on one medium is often correlated with use of another medium, although those relationships disappeared after other factors were controlled for.  For example, reliance on television news is strongly and positively associated with the time individuals spend with newspapers and news magazines.  Heavy media users are political junkies that search out information from a variety of sources. One media source complements another.  For instance, those who are heavily reading newspapers to find out about the 2000 election are also scanning the news magazines and watching television news and Sunday morning journalistic talk shows as well as surfing online political sites.  
        The finding that heavy reliance on the media leads to increased use even in the age of the Internet also suggests that those loyal to the mainstream media are not abandoning it.  Individuals who did not spend much time with the mainstream media in the first place are the ones cutting back on traditional media use to surf the Internet, not the loyal users.  
        However, heavy Internet use cut into time spent with traditional media.  Heavy reliance on the Internet, hours per week on the Internet and hours per week on political sites all correlated with declining use of television news, newspapers and news magazines.  These significant relationships vanished in the regression equations, although Internet use tended to reduce time spent with other media.  This supports the media substitution hypothesis that people will substitute one medium for another when they are functionally similar and that believe that the new medium carries a relative advantage.  
        The Internet holds several advantages over traditional media for those seeking political information.  First, the sheer volume of political  information available on the Net through candidate Web sites, nonpartisan sites such as PoliticsNow and online versions of traditional media dwarfs that found in the traditional media (Bimber, 1998).  Also while television serves up its news in 22-minute segments, at specific times and through the filter of the reporter or anchor, the Internet provides the public a theoretically limitless newshole of up-to-date information that is available when the public wants it. Much of this information is in "raw form" for the public to read for themselves rather than being predigested by the media.  As Washington Post  media writer Howard Kurtz notes, "The new ventures will give ordinary folks the ability to search voting records, election returns, exit polls, speeches and position papers, enabling them to cut through the political fog by downloading the facts for themselves" (Kurtz 1995). 
        Previous media gratifications research has linked motivations for using a medium to loyalty to that medium.  Rubin (1983) suggests that purposeful use of a medium for information or entertainment reasons increases the likelihood of individuals remaining loyal to that medium. On the other hand, more ritualistic use translates into more switching among various media. Additionally, the media substitution theory assumes that if people can gratify their needs with more than one medium they will choose the one that they find most satisfying (Jeffres, 1978). 
The present study examined whether reasons for using the Internet influence whether people increase or decrease their use of traditional media and discussion.  Surveillance, information, and social utility needs were all associated with the declining use of traditional media and with increased time spent discussing politics. However, entertainment motives were associated with an increased use of time spent with media as well as an increase in discussion. These results support Rubin's findings in the case of entertainment but not surveillance or information. Additionally, declining media use supports the media substitution theory that suggests that when people adopt a new medium, such as the Internet, they reallocate the time they spend with other media (Vitalari, Venkatesh & Gronhaug, 1985). 
Internet enthusiasts have discovered that the medium fulfills their needs for surveillance, information and social utility and it aids them in discussion with others.  These individuals still turn on the television or pick up a newspaper or news magazine if they want to find something out about political events or candidates that may be more entertaining than informative. The Internet has become a convenient way to access political information but it is not considered to be very entertaining. 
Those individuals who find the Internet entertaining spend significantly more time seeking political information from newspapers, and more time from television news and news magazines since before they used the Internet.  For these users, the Internet has become a medium for entertainment but television news, newspapers and news magazines are used for gathering more serious information. 
Although Internet gratifications are in many cases significantly associated with media use, these gratifications do not predict whether the Internet is replacing or supplementing traditional media use and discussion once someone has discovered the Internet.  In 1996 the Internet was still so new that that need fulfillment may not have had as strong of an influence on media use as other factors such as novelty or curiosity. 
Previous studies indicate that Web users tend to be more politically active and interested than the average citizen (Bimber, 1997, 1998; Bucy, et al., 1997; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Johnson & Kaye, 2000) but they also report low levels of trust in the government and in traditional news media (Bonchek, 1997; Hill & Hughes, 1998; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Katz, 1997). 
In the present study, the more faith and trust Internet users have in the government the more likely they are to increase their use of television news, newspapers, and news magazines as sources of political information.  These respondents link the trustworthiness of the government to the trustworthiness of the media.  On the other hand, politically interested Internet users who report low levels of trust in the government are replacing traditional sources with the Internet.  Not only are these individuals suspicious of the government but they also distrust traditional media and view the Internet as a medium for the people. As a 1993 Freedom Forum poll suggests, (Kees & Phillips, 1994), those who do not have faith in government also do not trust the media because they believe the country is being run by a handful of politicians, journalists and businesses; what the public wants or does has little effect on things. On the other hand, the Internet is perceived as a place where people of differing views and ideologies can find a comfortable home to express their opinions.  One study, found for instance that about 22 percent of Web pages were posted by groups and individuals who could be placed on the far right or left of the country's political spectrum and the number of anti-government messages outnumbered pro-government ones about 20-1 (Hill & Hughes, 1998).  
Personal characteristics are generally associated with decreasing levels of traditional media use and in some cases, predict whether an individual is likely to increase or decrease the time they spend with traditional media and with discussion since becoming an Internet user.  Older, wealthier online users are more likely to replace news magazines and television news with the Internet, and highly educated individuals spend less time discussing politics since going on online.
These findings are similar to previous studies that also suggest that older individuals with higher incomes and higher levels of education are using the Internet more and spending less time with traditional media (American Internet User Survey, 1997; GVU's 7thWWW User Survey, 1997; "GVU's 10th User Survey," 1998).  These individuals are also likely to have access to the Internet at work thus it may be easier and more convenient for them to access political information from their desks than to track down a newspaper or news magazine.  Declining use of traditional media may not be caused by waning interest, but because the people who are most likely to use the Internet do so at work where traditional media may not be readily available.  
        This study was conducted during the early days of Internet adoption when it may have been viewed as a novelty.  New studies are needed to determine if, now that the Internet has become more integrated into daily life, whether people still cut their time spent with traditional media to surf the Internet or whether people are now increasing their uses of all types of media, including the Internet.  This study only looked at characteristics of those who are supplementing or supplanting their traditional media use with the Internet.  Future studies need to explore in more depth why some individuals are reducing their time spent with mainstream media to go online and why others are increasing their time spent with traditional media as their time spend surfing the Internet also
continues to climb.
Table 1

Internet Users Time Spent with Media
for Political Information


(Mean Scores as percentages)
                        	
Time with TV News (N=307)                     	

                Decreased                               40.0	
                Stayed the Same                 49.5                    	
                Increased                               10.1            	
                Don't Know                                  .3

Time with Newspapers (N=307)
        	
Decreased                               28.0	
                Stayed the Same                 55.7                    	
                Increased                               16.3            	
        	

Time with News Magazines (n=307)

                Decreased                               26.7	
                Stayed the Same                 58.0                    	
                Increased                               13.0            	
                Don't Know                                2.3

Time with Discussion (N=299)

                Decreased                                 3.3	
                Stayed the Same                 40.5                    	
                Increased                               55.9            	
                Don't Know                                  .3
        	

Table 2
Media Use Correlations 


                                                                Amount of Use by Internet Users
                                                        	
                                	
        Television      Newspapers      News Magazines  Discussion              News
                                	
                                        	
Correlates (r)	

        Gender  .05     .07     .07     .07
        Age     -.04    -.08    -.14**  .06
        Education       .07     -.01    .02     -.23***
        Income  -.15**  -.06    -.14**  -.03
	
Trust in government     .19***  .20***  .14**   -.10
        	
Amount of Web Use
        Hours per week/Web      -.19*** -.17**  -.12*   .10
Hours per week/political sites  -.26*** -.18**  -.06    .25***
	
Reliance on Media
        Television News .47***  .25***  .15***  -.18**	
        Newspapers      .30***  .52***  .19***  -.23***
        News Magazines  .21***  .18***  .50***  -.12*
        Internet        -.24*** -.18**  -.12*   .28***
        Discussion      -.14**  -.09    -.01    .29***
                 
Internet Gratifications
        Surveillance    -.14*   -.05    -.12*   .25***
        Information     -.19*** -.13*   -.06    .30***
        Entertainment   .03     .15**   .06     .19***
        Social Utility  -.15**  -.09    -.02    .28***

	
*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001



Table 3
Hierarchical Regression Analysis of Predictors of 
Time Spent with Media for Political InformatioN


Predictor Variables             Regression 1    Regression 2    Regression 3    Regression 4
                TV News Newspapers      News Magazines  Discussion

Gender  -.00    .01     .05     -.03	
Age     .12     -.06    -.09    .03     	
Education       -.02    -.13    -.05    -.10    	
Income  -.13*   -.05    -.06    .06             	

Trust   .03     .08     .07     -.05    	

Hours per week on the Web       .01     -.04    -.09    .00     	
Hours per week on political sites       -.10    .01     .00     .17*    	

Reliance for political information
        Rely on TV News .35***  -.02    -.03    -.07    	
        Rely on Newspapers      .11     .45***  -.03    -.15	
        Rely on News Magazines  .21***  .10     .53***  -.01    	
        Rely on Web     -.10    -.15    -.12    .07     	
        Rely on Discussion      -.12*   -.13    -.01    .22***	

Internet Gratifications
        Surveillance    .09     .13     -.06    -.02	
        Information     -.12    .10     .09     .04     	
        Entertainment   .05     -.03    -.03    .06	
        Social Utility  -.01    -.06    -.02    .10	

*******************

R2              .395    .327            .372    .269
Adjusted R              .344    .270            .320    .206
R2 Change               .395    .069            .045    .103    	
Sig. of Change          .000    .000    .000    .000



*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001


Notes

1. Not all studies have found, however, that Internet use leads to social isolation (Activmedia, 1998).  Also, some scholars have noted that often people spend considerable time online socializing such as sending e-mails and talking in chat rooms.  However,  Stanford researcher Lutz Erbring contends that socializing by e-mail or chat rooms is not the same as interpersonal communication.  "E-mail is one way to stay in touch, but you can't share a coffee or a beer with somebody on e-mail or give them a hug."

2.  Like other surveys, this one suggests the Internet is dominated by young white males of high education and high socioeconomic status.  The average age in the survey is 31.2 while the gender ratio is 75.5% male and 24.5% female. Six out of ten have a college degree or higher and slightly less than half (45.1%) report an annual income between $25,001-$65,000. Finally, almost nine out of ten (88.3%) are white.  Both the online GVU Seventh WWW User Survey and the FIND/SVP American Internet User study, which was conducted by telephone, found that the average Internet user is in his 30s (35.2 and 36.5 years old respectively) and is male (68.7% in the GVU survey and 64.1% in the FIND/SVP study). More than half (54.2%) of respondents in the GVU study had a college education or higher and the average income was $58,000. Finally, the clear majority of respondents in both polls identified themselves as white.  Finally, our finding that the typical Internet user spends an average of 13.2 hours on the Net compare favorably with recent studies that put the number at 13.6 ("What's Your Daily Dose?," PC Magazine, 18 November , 1997, p. 9).

3. "I use the Web for political information because...
I rely on it for unbiased viewpoints
 information is easy to obtain, because it is exciting
to see how the candidates stand on various issues
to judge the personal qualities of candidates
to help make up my mind how to vote in an election
        to judge who is likely to win an election
        because it is entertaining
        to remind me of my candidates strong points
        to give me something to talk about with others
        to find out about issues affecting people like myself
        to find specific political information that I'm looking for
        to keep up with the main issues of the day
        because it helps me relax
        to see what a candidate would do if elected
        to use as ammunition in arguments with others
        to enjoy the excitement of an election race
        to help me make up my mind about the important issues
	
4. In the initial study (Kaye & Johnson, 1998)  five primary gratifications emerged from the factor analysis.  However for the current study, the fifth gratification, contest, does not apply to the rationale and therefore was dropped from the analyses.

5. Respondents were asked to record their age on their last birthday.  They were also asked what is the highest grade or year in school they have completed (less than high school, high school grad, some college, four year college degree, master's degree, Ph.D. degree, other) and to estimate their annual income for 1996 (less than 10,000, 10,001-25,000, 25,001-40,000, 40,001-65,000, 65,001-80,000, 80,001-95,000, more than 95,000).

6. Since 1996 when this survey was conducted, the ratio of men to women Internet users has evened out to almost 50:50 (Trager, 1999). 
References

Activmedia. (1998). Web Improves Relationships. [Online] Available at www.nua.ie/survey/index.

American Internet user survey. (1997). Emerging Technologies Research Group, [Online]. Available: http://etrg.findsvp.com/Internet/findf.html [1998, January 7].

American Society of Newspaper Editors. (1985).  Newspaper credibility:  Building reader Trust. Conducted by MORI Research Inc.

Arbitron New Media. (1999). Internet does not effect TV viewing habits. [Online]. Available at www.nua.ie/surveys

Atkin, David J., Jeffres, Leo W., & Neuendorf, Kimbery A. (1995).  The Impact of new and traditional media on college student leisure preferences. World Communication, 24, 67-73.

Atkin, David J., Jeffres, Leo W., & Neuendorf, Kimbery A. (1998). Understanding Internet Adoption as Telecommunications Behavior. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42, 475-490
 
Bimber,  Bruce. (1997). The Internet and political communication in the 1996 election season:  A research note. [Online]. Available:  http:/www.sscf.ucsb.edu/~survey1.

Bimber, Bruce. (1998). "Toward an empirical map of political participation on the Internet." (Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, September).

Bonchek, Mark S. (1997).  From Broadcast to Netcast:  The Internet and the Flow of Political Information. Ph.D. diss., Harvard University.

Bonchek, Mark S., Roger Hurwitz, and John Mallery. (1996). Will the Web democratize or polarize the political process? A White House Electronic Publications Survey. World Wide Web Journal  3 (Summer).  [Online] Available: http://www.w3j.com/3/s3.bonchek.html.

 Bromley, Rebekah V.&   Bowles, Dorothy. (1995). "Impact of Internet on use of traditional  news media. Newspaper Research Journal , 16, 14-27.

Bucy, Erik P., D'Angelo, Paul & Newhagen, John E. (1997). New media sse and political participation." (Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, August).

Chaffee, Steven H., & Schleuder, Joan . (1986). Measurement and effects of attention to media 
news. Human Communication Research, 13, 76-107.

Chaffee, Steven H., & Frank, Stacey. (1996). How Americans get political information: Print versus broadcast news. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 546, 48-58.

Childers, T., & Krugman, D. (1987). The competitive environment of pay-per-view. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 31, 335-342.

Coffin, T.E. (1955). Television's impact on society. American Psychologist, 20, 630-641..

Cybercampaigns Preach to Choir. (1996). The Media & Campaign '96. Media Studies Center, Briefing No. 1, 8-9.

Dutton, W.J., Rogers, E.M., & Jun, S. (1987). Diffusion and social impacts of personal computers.  Communication Research, 14, 219-250.

Eighmey, James. (1997). Profiling user responses to commercial web sites. Journal of Advertising, 37, 59-66.

Greenberg, Bradley S. (19966). Media use and believability:  Some multiple correlates.  Journalism Quarterly , 43, 665-70, 732. 

GVU. (1997) GVU's 7th WWW User Survey. [Online]. Available: www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys

GVU. (1998) GVU's 10th WWW User Survey. [Online]. Available:
        www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys

Hansell, Saul. (1998, Sept. 21). Studies differ on Internet's impact on TV. New York Times, p. C2.

Henke, L.L. & Donohue, T.R. (1989). Functional displacement of tradtitional television viewing by VDR owners. Journal of Advertising Research, 29, 18-23.

Hill, Kevin A., & Hughes, John E. (1998). Cyberpolitics: Citizen Activism in the Age of the Internet. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

Hughes, John E.  (2000). Going online: The future of news media. In It's show time! Media, politics, and popular culture, ed. David A. Schultz,  pp. 245-263. New York: Peter Lang. 

Internet eats into TV time. (1996, January). St. Louis Post Dispatch, pp. 6C, 8C.

Internet may change TV viewing habits (2000). [Online] Available at 
        www.usatodday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crg817.htm.

Jeffres, Leo. 1978. Cable tv and interest maximizaiton. Journalism Quarterly, 55, 149-154.

Jeffres, Leo W., & Atkin, David. (1996). Predicting use of technologies 
        for communication and consumer needs. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 40, 318-330.

Jessell, M. (1995, November 6). Internet begins to cut into TV viewing. Broadcasting & Cable, 113.

Johnson, Thomas J., & Kaye, Barbara K. (1998). "A Vehicle for engagement or a haven for the disaffected?: Internet use, Political alienation, and voter Participation." In Engaging the Public: How Government and the Media can Reinvigorate American Democracy, ed. Thomas J. Johnson, Carol E. Hays and Scott P. Hays, pp. 123-135. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Johnson, Thomas J., & Kaye, Barbara K. (2000). Democracy's rebirth or demise? The influence of the Internet on political attitudes.  In It's show time! Media, politics, and popular culture, ed. David A. Schultz,  pp. 209-228. New York: Peter Lang. 

Jupiter Communications (1998). 80 Percent of Ccnsumers trust online news 
        as much as offline.  [Online]. Available at http://www.jup.com/ 
        jupiter/press/releases/1998/1119a.html.

Kang, Mee-Eun, & Atkin, David J. (1999). Exploring the role of media 
        uses and gratifications in multimedia cable adoption. 
        Telematics and Informatics, 16, 59-74.
 
Katz, Jon. 1997. "The Digital Citizen," Wired, December, 68-82, 274-275.

Kaye, Barbara K.  Uses and gratifications of the World Wide Web: From couch potato to Web potato." New Jersey Journal of Communication, 6, 21-40. 

Kaye, Barbara K., & Johnson, Thomas J. (1998). Online and In the Know: Uses and Gratifications of the Web for Political Information. Presented to the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research annual convention.

Kaye, Barbara  K., & Medoff, Norman J. (1999). The World Wide Web: A mass communication perspective. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Kees, B., and B. Phillips, eds. (1994). Nothing sacred:  Journalism, politics and public trust in a tell-all age. Nashville, TN: The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.

Kurtz, Howard. (1995). Webs of political intrigue: Candidates, media looking for Internet constituents." The Washington Post,  13 November, sec. B, p. 1, col. 4.

Lasswell, Harold. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society. In L. Bryson (Ed.), The Communication of Idea. New York: Harper & Row.

Lieberman, David. (1999). Web growth will help most media. [Online]. 
        Available at www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/ctg632.htm.

Lin,  Carolyn A. (1993). Exploring the role of VCR use in the 
        emerging home entertainment culture. Journalism Quarterly, 
        70, 633-842.

Lin, Carolyn A. (1994). Audience fragmentation in a competitive 
        video marketplace. Journal of Advertising Resarch, 34, 1-17.

Lin, Carolyn A. (1998). Exploring the personal compuer adoption 
        dynamic. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 41, 91-
        112.

McLeod, J. M, & Becker, L. B. (1974). Testing the validity of gratification measures through political effects analysis. In J.G. Blumler, & E. Katz (Ed.), The uses of mass communication: Current perspectives on gratifications research. (pp. 137-162). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

McLeod, J. M., & Becker, L. B. (1981). The uses and gratifications approach. In D. D Nimmo, & K. R. Sanders (Ed.), Handbook of political communication. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

McLeod, Jack M., & McDonald, D.G. (1985). Beyond simple exposure: 
        Media orientations and their impact on political processes. 
        Communication Research, 12, 3-34.


Perse, Elizabeth M., & Dunn, Debra Greenberg. (1998). The utility of 
        home computers and media use: Implications of multimedia 
        and connectivity. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 
        42, 435-456.

Pew Research Center. (1999). The Internet news audience goes 
        ordinary. [Online] Available at www.people-
        press.org/tech98mor.htm.

Rogers, Everett M. (1985). The diffusion of home computers among 
        households at Silicon Valley. Marriage and Family Review, 8, 
        89-100.

Rubin, Alan. (1983). Television uses and gratifications: The interaction of viewing patterns and motivations. Journal of Broadcasting, 27, 37-51.

San Jose Mercury News: 50 Percent Consider Internet a Necessity. (7 December 1998). {Online] Available at http://www.nua.ie/surveys.

SIQQS. (2000). Study offers early look at hom Internet is changing      daily life. [Online] Available at www.stanford.edu/dept/ 
        news/pr/00/000216internet.html

Sparkes, V.M. & Kang, N. (1986). Public reactions to cable television: 
        Time in the diffusion process. Journal of Broadcasting &
         Electronic Media, 30, 213-229.

Sterling, Christopher H., & Kittross, John M. (1990). A concise history 
        of American broadcasting. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Trager, L. (1999, March 29). Women even score on Net use. Interactive Week, 6 (13) p. 16.

Vitalari, Nicholas .P., Venkatesh, Allandi, & Grohaug, Kjell. (1995). 
        Computing in the home: Shifts in the time allocation patterns of 
        households. Communications of the ACM, 28, 512-522.

Wanta, Wayne  and Hu, Yu-Wei. (1994). The effects of credibility, reliance, and exposure on media agenda-setting:  A path analysis model. Journalism Quarterly, 71, 90-98.

Weaver, David H,, & Buddenbaum, Judith M. (1979, April 20). 
        Newspapers and television: A review of Research on uses and
         effects. ANPA News Research Report, 19, Washington, D.C.: 
        ANPA.

Weimann, G. (1996). Cable comes to the Holy Land: The impact of 
        cable TV on Israeli viewers. Journal of Broadcasting & 
        Electronic Media, 40, 243-257.

 Westley,  Bruce H. & Severin, Werner J. (1964). Some correlates of media credibility. Journalism Quarterly,  41, 325-35.

Why Internet advertising. (1997, May 5). MediaWeek, 7, S8-S13.

Wired. (1998). TV v. Net: Not a zero-sum game. [Online] Available at 
        www.wirednews.com

ZDNet. (1998). Homes with Net access watch less TV. [Online]  
        Available at www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories.