AN ANALYSIS ON THE PREFERENCE, READERSHIP, AND PERCEIVED ADVANTAGES OF STUDENTS WHEN CHOOSING A PARTICULAR MEDIUM AND BRAND OF ONLINE AND PRINT NEWSPAPERS
ABSTRACT
Blaza, P. T.(2010) An analysis on the preference, readership, and perceived advantages of students when choosing a particular brand of online and print newspapers. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication The study focuses on the analysis of the students’ preference for a particular medium and brand of newspaper, their reasons for doing so, and their perceived advantages of using that medium compared to the other. Structured surveys and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were used as primary research instruments for quantitative and qualitative measurements of the study. A total of 250 respondents from different colleges around the University of the Philippines- Diliman answered the survey, while 13 respondents divided into two groups (one consisting of Mass Communication students and the other of different disciplines) were tapped for the FGD. Results showed that among the brands listed for the print newspaper, most students preferred the Philippine Daily Inquirer, followed by the Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin. When asked what their reasons for doing so, majority said they believed that the brand had good content and was more credible compared to other papers. Most respondents answered that the advantages of newspapers included completeness of news, followed by credible content and easy access, while disadvantages were basically due to the price of newspaper and day-old stories. Among the online newspapers, Inquirer.Net topped the preference list while nonnewspaper online news Yahoo! News ranked second and Phil Star.Com third. Respondents chose those brands because of more updates and credibility of news. Regarding the preference of the two media, more than half the respondents answered they preferred print newspapers over online because they provided easier access than the latter.
Keywords
Thesis, journalism, preference, print, online, brand, newpapers, students