Local Newspaper Readership in the 21st Century: Exploring Differences Between 'Hybrid' and Online-Only Users.

As U.S. newspapers seek to emphasize their combined audience of print and online readers, this study unpacks this problematic conflation, using a media economics framework to examine the perceptions, satisfaction, and behavior of consumers when presented with related goods of news. Using data gathered from 18,484 respondents spread among 27 metro areas large and small, this study examined key distinctions between online-only newspaper readers and those who read both print and online. We found that "hybrid" users were more satisfied with their local newspapers' Web sites, and used them more purposefully to seek everyday information. For practitioners as well as media researchers, these findings raise new questions about the perceived utility of online news sites, the economics of local newspaper readership, and the "active" nature of seemingly "passive" traditional media users. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]