Readers’ Perception of Nigerian Newspapers on the Internet

Abstract

This study is an assessment of the state of Nigerian newspapers published on the internet. The study looks at the state of awareness and utility in readership and response to feedback services of online newspapers among readers. Also assessed are the challenges and prospects of internet newspaper publishing in Nigeria. The methodology for this study is the survey. The respondents for the study were purposively sampled from the population of newspaper readers (both online and conventional) in some selected cities in South-South Nigeria.  Findings revealed that, the internet has played a significant role in the transformation of the newspaper industry in Nigeria and that the high rate of internet charges and low services experienced by internet subscribers is a drawback to Nigerian online Newspaper readership. The paper concludes that in spite of the benefits of the internet, many Nigerians still do not fancy the reading of Newspapers online because they believe that any faceless individual can post whatever he likes on the internet for public consumption.

Keywords: Audience, Perception, Internet, Newspaper, Information Technology