Examining the Level of Reliance and Perceived Credibility of Online Versus Print Newspapers among Undergraduate Students of Mass Communication Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

This study examined the level of reliance and perceived credibility of online versus print newspapers among undergraduate students of the Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. It is without a doubt that there is an ongoing metamorphosis in the media landscape today, with print newspapers embracing new technologies and moving online. The objectives of this research therefore, was to investigate the extent of reliance, to know which medium the population prefers, to examine the factors that facilitated their choices and to examine the medium they find more credible. The research employed the uses and gratification and metamorphosis theories as theoretical frameworks. The study adopted the quantitative survey method and used stratified sampling technique to arrive at the sample size of 200 respondents. The findings revealed that there was high preference for online newspapers over print newspapers, and that the online format wasn’t believed to be very credible due to factors such as fake news, misinformation and disinformation. Also, some factors that facilitated their preference were identified which included ease of comprehension, ability to share and comment on news stories and ease of accessibility. Based on these findings, the study recommended that media organizations should invest more in technologies that could help in detecting and eliminating fake news in their content, and that there should be more sensitization campaigns on the dangers of sharing unconfirmed reports and unverified claims on the internet.