Decline in news content engagement or news medium engagement? A longitudinal analysis of news engagement since the rise of social and mobile media 2009–2012

Based on a 4-year longitudinal analysis of social media and mobile phone users in a Midwest US market, this study differentiates news content engagement from news medium engagement, proposes four levels of news engagement, and compares how social media and mobile media differ in their effects on eng...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournalism (London, England) Vol. 19; no. 5; pp. 718 - 739
Main Authors Ha, Louisa, Xu, Ying, Yang, Chen, Wang, Fang, Yang, Liu, Abuljadail, Mohammad, Hu, Xiao, Jiang, Weiwei, Gabay, Itay
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.05.2018
Subjects
Longitudinal analysis
mobile media
news engagement
social media
news consumption
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Based on a 4-year longitudinal analysis of social media and mobile phone users in a Midwest US market, this study differentiates news content engagement from news medium engagement, proposes four levels of news engagement, and compares how social media and mobile media differ in their effects on engagement in news content and news medium between the general population and college students. The analysis shows a steady decline in the interest in political news but not in other types of news. Total news consumption time gradually declined among the general population, and the gap between general population and students diminished over time. Social media use positively predicts total news consumption time. Predictors of news engagement differ for different levels of news engagement.
ISSN:1464-8849
1741-3001
DOI:10.1177/1464884916667654