Audiences on the move? Use and assessment of local print and online newspapers

Abstract

Online media have contributed to transforming media industries as well as media audiences, globally, nationally and locally. This article studies the readers of local and regional newspapers with online and print editions and analyses how the audiences use and assess the two versions as information sources, identity mediators and arenas of the local public sphere. The findings suggest that although the younger generations are moving online, there are social and cultural differences between audience groups that make the transition from print a risky and uncertain strategy for local newspapers. It is generally the same sociodemographic groups that read both editions, except for one critical dimension: attachment to the locality where they lived was shared by those preferring the printed over the online newspaper.