Dynamic and competition between traditional and new media

Abstract

The question whether old media are driven out of existence by new media has been of great concern in academic and industrial research but has received no definitive answer.

This study goes beyond most previous studies of Internet impact on traditional media, which have placed their relationship within a competition-based framework, to specifically investigate the complementary effect of online news and information usage on traditional sources.

Primary data was obtained from a survey conducted in Nairobi. The data was analyzed. The findings from analysis of both primary and secondary data were subjected hypothesis testing for the mean, partial correlations, and a linear regression analysis.

Online news and information usage at different usage levels is positively associated with the use oftraditonal news and information sources, especially those that are more information-intensive. Those who relied on the Internet the most for news and information still used traditional sources substantially.

The findings suggest that even if a displacement effect takes place, there will be no replacement (absolute displacement): traditional media will still exist to complement the Internet in serving human beings' news and information needs.