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This study assesses the competition between free sheet and traditional daily newspapers in the newspaper market of Milan, Italy. The student sample being investigated represents a major target group for free sheets. The theoretical basis is the niche theory by J. Dimmick. The theory is applied to four gratification
dimensions for readers which are extracted by a factor analysis and analyzes competition by measuring the niche breadth of each newspaper, the niche overlap and a superiority index concerning the delivered gratifications.
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Results indicate that readers receive a higher gratification by traditional daily newspapers in the information/orientation dimension. Free sheets deliver roughly equal gratifications on the overview/topicality and the habit/mood
dimensions. The free sheets’ strength lies especially in fulfilling an entertaining
function, which is reflected by their superiority on this dimension. They score well here, especially in the judgement of female readers. Implications for the potential competition between the two newspaper types in the readers’ market are discussed in light of these results as well as further findings concerning use
patterns and brand perceptions.
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