Abstract
A linkage between media convergence and a transformation to digital television (TV) is increasingly becoming a driving force to the significant changes in news consumption and production pattern in Thailand. Based on the Uses and Gratifications theory and a problem analysis, this paper develops a research framework on Thai-youth audiences’ gratifications to news consumption through digital TV. Three alternatives to identify the gratification performances include (i) adaptation, (ii) shaping and (iii) selection. Conditioning factors are news content and news value in five dimensions those covering ‘timeliness’, ‘novelty’, ‘credible’, ‘impartiality’ and ‘contribution to social consequence and public sphere’. The quantitative method was used with a set of five-point scale questions and the analytical statistics. Three prominent findings are that Thai youth performs a high level of gratifications when consuming news through digital TV, the adaptation approach is mostly taken and that news content of ‘climate and environment’ is most potential to the gratification performances. Among a variety of news content through digital TV, ‘hot news’ is most viewed while political news is least accounted. The youth audiences have major interest in news content that has a novelty value for such an outcome of social interaction. Gender is also reported as the significant factor to identify Thai youth’s gratifications to news consumption. In conclusion, news professionals and owners of digital TV are challenging for audience practices in uses and gratifications to a diversity of news and information sources, which is behind the agenda of media convergence.
Author Information
Taksina Chai-ittipornwong, Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University, Thailand
Paper Information
Conference: MediAsia2015
Stream: Mass Communication
This paper is part of the MediAsia2015 Conference Proceedings (View)
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