Publication | Closed Access
Accidentally Informed: Incidental News Exposure on the World Wide Web
385
Citations
0
References
2001
Year
Fake NewsDigital MarketingPublic OpinionNews DistributionCommunicationMedia StudiesJournalismInteractive JournalismSocial MediaMedia EffectsNews AvoidanceNews HeadlinesNews AnalyticsPolitical CommunicationSocial Medium NewsNews SemanticsContent AnalysisMass MediaMedia ContentNews CoverageMedia PoliciesMedia HistoryNews ConsumptionNews DeliveryMass CommunicationArts
The Web’s near‑ubiquitous breaking‑news headlines and portal services create an environment where users encounter current affairs incidentally, challenging traditional models that assume intentional news exposure. The study aims to determine whether accidental online news exposure is positively associated with awareness of current affairs. Survey data collected in 1996 and 1998 were analyzed to test this association. Incidental news exposure was unrelated to knowledge in 1996 but became a positive predictor of awareness in 1998.
An important element of news delivery on the World Wide Web today is the near ubiquity of breaking news headlines. What used to be called search engines (e.g., Yahoo! and Lycos) are now “portals” or “hubs,” popular services that use news, weather, and other content features to extend the time users spend on the sites. Traditional models of news dissemination in the mass media often assume some level of intention behind most news exposure. The prevalence of news on the disparate corners of the Web provides opportunities for people to encounter current affairs information in an incidental fashion, a byproduct of their other online activities. This study uses survey data from 1996 and 1998 to test whether accidental exposure to news on the Web is positively associated with awareness of current affairs information. The results indicate that incidental online news exposure was unrelated to knowledge in 1996 but acted as a positive predictor in 1998.