News consumption preferences of Web 2.0 users throughout the media digitalization: A field research within the scope of uses and gratifications theory

The purpose of this study to reveal the news consumption preferences of Web 2.0 users within the scope of uses and gratifications theory. Firstly, a questionnaire was applied to 430 Web 2.0 users, and it was determined that the three most common media channels used by the participants in their news consumption were YouTube, Instagram and the news website-digital newspaper. The study is limited to these three media channels. News Consumption Motivations and Gratifications Scale was developed in order to determine the news consumption motivations of Web 2.0 users through these media channels. Exploratory factor analysis (efa) yielded a five-factor structure explaining 70.68% of variance. Confirmatory factor analysis (cfa), analysis of convergent and divergent validity confirmed this structure. The high internal consistency value of the scale (αTotal = .90) also revealed that the scale is reliable. The scale consists of five components: Entertainment and Relaxation, Reliability, Technical Opportunities and Convenience, Prosperous and Optional Content, and Active Participation. These factors represent the news consumption motivations of the participants. The participants of this research included 1062 Web 2.0 users studying at associate and undergraduate degree programs. According to the findings of the research, in the context of three channels, it was observed that the participants have a more positive attitude towards YouTube; whereas a more negative attitude towards news website-digital newspaper. It was found that participants' news consumption motivations did not differ according to gender, class level and faculty. Results of one factor ANOVA for repeated measures showed that there is a significant difference in news consumption motivations according to media channel (p<.001). Keywords: Uses and gratifications, News consumption motivations, Digital media, Web 2.0