Interactivity on Swedish newspaper websites: What kind, how much and why?

Abstract

This article examines what kind of interactive features are available on the websites of Swedish newspapers, and what factors seem to influence the utilization of those features. Using Chung’s typology of interactive features, we can discern four types: human (features that facilitate interpersonal communication), human–medium (allowing users to express their personal opinions), medium (allowing users choice options in experiencing news stories) and medium–human (allowing users to customize news to their liking) interactive features. Factors believed to have influence over interactive features are tested using statistical analysis. Even though different factors tend to influence different types of interactivity, results indicate that the most interactive newspaper websites belong to large, national newspapers with younger web staff.