Prediction of Print and Online Newspaper Readership From Indices of News Quality.

This secondary analysis of a representative sample from respondents in 27 American cities shows that people's perceptions of local news quality and their preferences for new media features (represented by cell phones and access to broadband) is highly predictive on readership of local print newspapers. Only the new media features are predictive of readership of those newspapers' websites, except in one city where a concerted effort has been made to develop the website and drive traffic to it. In that city, website readership is strongly predicted by the news quality variables. The Media Choice Model, which combines demographics, news quality perceptions, and preference for new media features thus is provided as further support for its utility. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]