New Media, E- Publishing and the Fearful Realities: Implications for the Survival of Traditional Print Media in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined New Media, E-publishing and the Fearful Realities; Implications for the Survival of Traditional Print Media in Nigeria with particular focus on news media consumption patterns of university students in Ado Ekiti, South-west, Nigeria. Anchored on the Uses and Gratification and Diffusion of Innovations Theories, the survey research design was applied for the study. Questionnaire was administered on 200 respondents but 192 of them adequately responded and were analyzed. Stratified and convenience sampling techniques were employed to draw samples. Findings from the study revealed that new media in journalism practice poses a threat to the readership of traditional print media. A total of 93% of the respondents have very high access to online news sources, 3% of them have high access to online news sources, while 2%) of the respondents have average access to online news sources. The other 2% of the respondents have low access to online news sources. Majority of the respondents read online newspapers more than they read traditional newspapers which shows that there is a drastic downward  trend of the readership figures of traditional print media. The study recommends that print media publishers in Nigeria should re-strategize to improve readership among students of tertiary institutions because they form a large percentage of newspaper readers in the country.

Keywords: New Media, online news sources, print media