The Role of the Internet in the Decline and Future of Regional Newspapers
Digital technology has had a significant impact on the newspaper industry in many different areas of the world. The Internet and digital content technologies enable online newspapers to reach a wide audience and to reduce many of the costs associated with print newspapers, but there have also been some negative impacts including a loss of readers and advertising revenue for traditional printed newspapers. In this chapter, focus groups and interviews are used to investigate the following issues: (1) the role of the Internet in the decline of the social/business influence of regional newspapers, and (2) the impact of developments such as Web 2.0 on the future of regional news supply. The chapter concludes with a discussion of managerial implications for the future.