AbstractsCommunication

This study aims to understand if the process of habit formation differs between traditional news media consumption and online news media consumption and how the implications for the uses and gratification theory is evolving, as a result. Seven respondents who access news from the web were interviewed, were asked to describe their consumption behaviors in terms of frequency, mode, time, duration and environment of access. The study observed a shift in the way modern day people consume news due to the increase in modes of access. The results of the study indicate that habit formation is now based on RSS feed-based platforms that both give users a wider sense of control over their content, and allow them to maintain an affinity for a platform, while still consuming their preferred content. Advisors/Committee Members: Meyer, Hans (Advisor).