Australian online newspapers: a website content analysis approach to measure interactivity

This paper addresses the growth and development of the concept of interactivity in online newspapers from the perspectives of computer-mediated communication, journalism, advertising, and information system. This paper discusses the concept of interactivity that originated in the work of Heeter. The study maps Heeter’s dimensions (content, availability and choice, communication opportunity, effort of users, responsiveness, and customisation and management of information) in the contemporary setting of the Australian online newspaper industry. The researchers reviewed 12 Australian online newspapers in two snapshots using a website content analysis approach. The results are the basis for discussion as to the level of interactivity in Australian online newspapers. Content availability and choice was found to be the most significant element of interactivity. It is noted that, while the majority of Australian online newspapers offer interactive functionality for expressing opinions, blogging, contests and polls, only one online newspaper provided genuine interactive gaming.

[1]  Brian L. Massey.  Market-based predictors of interactivity at Southeast Asian online newspapers , 2000, Internet Res..

[2]  Jang-Sun Hwang,et al.  Measures of Perceived Interactivity: An Exploration of the Role of Direction of Communication, User Control, and Time in Shaping Perceptions of Interactivity , 2002 .

[3]  D. Hoffman,et al.  Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments: Conceptual Foundations , 1996 .

[4]  Jens F. Jensen,et al.  Interactivity: Tracking a New Concept in Media and Communication Studies , 1998 .

[5]  Brian L. Massey,et al.  Interactivity, Online Journalism, and English-Language Web Newspapers in Asia , 1999 .

[6]  Paul Benjamin Lowry,et al.  A Theoretical Model and Empirical Results Linking Website Interactivity and Usability Satisfaction , 2006, Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'06).

[7]  Chang-Hoan Cho,et al.  INTERNET USES AND GRATIFICATIONS: A Structural Equation Model of Interactive Advertising , 2005 .

[8]  D. Stewart,et al.  Measuring the Effects and Effectiveness of Interactive Advertising , 2000 .

[9]  Klaus Krippendorff,et al.  Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology , 1980 .

[10]  Merrill Morris.  The Internet as Mass Medium , 1996, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[11]  Marcia J. Bates,et al.  AN EXPLORATORY PROFILE OF PERSONAL HOME PAGES: CONTENT, DESIGN, METAPHORS , 1997 .

[12]  Yuping Liu,et al.  What is Interactivity and is it Always Such a Good Thing? Implications of Definition, Person, and Situation for the Influence of Interactivity on Advertising Effectiveness , 2002 .

[13]  John G. Lynch,et al.  Interactive Home Shopping: Consumer, Retailer, and Manufacturer Incentives to Participate in Electronic Marketplaces , 1997 .

[14]  Kristin Demetrious,et al.  Reflexive modernity and the art of public communication , 2003 .

[15]  D. Chaffey,et al.  Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice , 2000 .

[16]  Bonnie Bressers,et al.  Few University Students Reading Newspapers Online , 2002 .

[17]  Gerd G. Kopper,et al.  Research Review: Online Journalism - a report on current and continuing research and major questions in the international discussion , 2000 .

[18]  Özgür İlke Şanlıer,et al.  Interactive Features of Online Newspapers And News Portals in Turkey , 2005 .

[19]  Xigen Li,et al.  Web Page Design and Graphic Use of three U.S. Newspapers , 1998 .

[20]  C. Heeter.  Interactivity in the Context of Designed Experiences , 2000 .

[21]  G. Wu,et al.  Perceived Interactivity and Attitude toward Web Sites, In Proceedings of the Conference of the American Academy of Advertising: . , 1999 .

[22]  John E. Newhagen,et al.  Why Communication Researchers Should Study the Internet: A Dialogue , 1996, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[23]  Sally J. McMillan.  Who Pays for Content? Funding in Interactive Media , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[24]  Jennifer Stromer-Galley,et al.  Interactivity-as-Product and Interactivity-as-Process , 2004, Inf. Soc..

[25]  Sally J. McMillan.  A four-part model of cyber-interactivity , 2002, New Media Soc..

[26]  David C. Yen,et al.  Improving the quality of online presence through interactivity , 2004, Inf. Manag..

[27]  Chi-Hong Leung,et al.  Importance of interactivity and customization in online learning , 2002, International Conference on Computers in Education, 2002. Proceedings..

[28]  Spiro Kiousis,et al.  Interactivity: a concept explication , 2002, New Media Soc..

[29]  Klaus-Peter Wiedmann,et al.  Customer profiling in e-commerce: Methodological aspects and challenges , 2002 .

[30]  Louisa Ha,et al.  Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business web sites , 1998 .

[31]  Chien Chou,et al.  Interactivity and interactive functions in web-based learning systems: a technical framework for designers , 2003, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[32]  Rajan Varadarajan,et al.  Interactivity in the electronic marketplace: An exposition of the concept and implications for research , 2005 .

[33]  Lars Bo Eriksen,et al.  Digital newspapers explore marketing on the Internet , 1999, CACM.

[34]  Fay Sudweeks,et al.  Networked Interactivity , 1997, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[35]  Keith Kenney,et al.  Interactive Features of Online Newspapers , 2000, First Monday.

[36]  R. Pugliese,et al.  The Internet and Public Participation: State Legislature Web Sites and the Many Definitions of Interactivity , 2005 .

[37]  Steve Paulussen,et al.  Online News Production in Flanders: How Flemish Online Journalists Perceive and Explore the Internet's Potential , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[38]  P. Boczkowski.  The Processes of Adopting Multimedia and Interactivity in Three Online Newsrooms , 2004 .

[39]  Allan Kuchinsky,et al.  Quality is in the eye of the beholder: meeting users' requirements for Internet quality of service , 2000, CHI.

[40]  Kevin Kawamoto,et al.  Digital journalism : emerging media and the changing horizons of journalism , 2003 .

[41]  Catherine A. Middleton,et al.  Exploring Consumer Demand for Networked Services: The Importance of Content, Connectivity, and Killer Apps in the Diffusion of Broadband and Mobile Services , 2002, ICIS.

[42]  Mark Deuze,et al.  The Web and its Journalisms: Considering the Consequences of Different Types of Newsmedia Online , 2003, New Media Soc..