Why read online news? the structural relationships among motivations, behaviors, and consumption in South Korea

Using cross-sectional data (N = 811) implemented by the Korea Information Society Development Institute, this study investigated the effects of online users’ motivations (information-seeking, entertainment, and social utility) for reading online news on their online news usage and consumption in South Korea. Consistent with our predictions, the motivations were associated with in-depth reading. Our findings also indicated that in-depth reading mediated the association between the motivations for using and the actual use of online news, whereas interactions and source-checking did not mediate the relationship. The implications of the study and recommendations for future research directions are also discussed.