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Chapter-II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter encompasses a discussion of two significant themes vital to

the study: interactivity and participatory communication. It then goes on to provide a

theoretical structure and basis for the study as well as to discuss relevant models of

communication and audience research. Besides exploring the more abstract and

philosophical discussions on the concept of interactivity, it will also accentuate core

explications of the subject.

By means of the various theories, discussions and existing research

presented in this chapter, a set of criteria will be constructed to meet the objectives of the

study mentioned in the previous chapter.

2.1 Interactivity in Online Journalism


Interactivity is the chief and discerning characteristic of new technologies

and the online environment. Online newspapers serve as a global medium to provide

latest information anytime with high-speed interaction due to two-way communication in

comparison to one-way communication in traditional media. The Internet's facilities of

email, news groups and' web services are new authentic sources for newsgathering

(Volkmer 1995). Focusing on traditional media's lack of interactivity, some scholars

have called for an 'interactive journalism'. The Internet has the potential to increase the

interactive attempts in journalism (Schultz 1999).

Deuze (1999) declares that the development of new media, particularly in

terms of the Internet and the World Wide Web has led to the formation of a type of
journalism that is referred to as 'online journalism', a kind of journalism that is

characterized by three dimensions: interactivity, personalization and convergence.

Morris and Ogan's (1996) work as cited by Massey and Levy (1999)

suggests that online journalism can be called 'interactive' when it is put to work to

facilitate asynchronous and synchronous interpersonal communication between content

consumers and producers, and among consimiers. Email links to online journalists,

electronic bulletin boards and chat rooms could be examples of interpersonally

interactive Web news making.

Though the term interactivity was widely used in various disciplines long

before new media came into being, it is usually agreed that the major difference between

new media and traditional media is interactivity (Pavlik, 1996; Rafaeli & Sudweeks,

1997).

"The Zeitgeist of the Net — its unifying principle — is


centered in interaction and interconnectedness, not 'I-will-
publish, you-will-accept.' The Net is not a megaphone. The
Net is a conversation" (Lasica, 1996: 33).

Interactive online journalism has the capability to make the reader a part

of the news experience, to enable readers to actively pursue or seek out news and content

that they want rather than passively being informed (Kenny et al.2000; Deuze 1999). It

has the ability to enable readers to control the information coming at them and to be

active rather than passive recipients (Cuenca 1998). Interactive media can also blur the

lines between the receivers and senders of a mediated message (Singer 1998). Online

journalism provides an environment in which everyone can be his or her own journalist.

Journalism, in short, is being reinvented (Riley et al 1998). By using its technological

constituent as a determining factor in terms of a working definition, online journalism can

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be functionally distinguished from other kinds of journalism. It utilizes the Internet's

potential by largely facilitating platforms for the exchange of ideas and stories, among

other things (Deuze 2001).

Millison (1999) maintains that traditional print journalism directs readers

and it does so by using narrative momentum and a strong editorial voice to pull them

through a linear narrative. Online journalism, on the contrary, permits the readers to get

more involved and become participants as they click their way through a hyper linked set

of pages. Interactivity-laden numerous and diverse navigation pathways, branching

options and hyperlinks encourage the reader to continue to delve into various narrative

threads. It is not only the reader that gains from the interactivity; according to Reddick

and King (1995:236), the World Wide Web allows journalists to combine different kinds

of information in both new and different ways. Interactivity plays a key role in enabling

them to do so.

The earlier communication technologies helped disseminate news through

mass publication or broadcasting. But online journalism caters to the needs of the masses

along with being sensitive to the individual news hunger. So the concept of

'massification' has taken a shift towards 'individuation' of news with the arrival of new

media (Thapar 2002).

Part of the challenges of the new technologies for journalism is not only a

shift to online journalism but also a shift towards viewing readers more as collaborators

than consumers. Joumalis'ts will also need to enlarge their professional role from arbiters

of reality and truth to include being facilitators of social dialogue (Huesca & Dervin

1999). 5nV77/

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Hume (1998:4) envisages a new model for news called 'resource

journalism'; a multimedia model that depends on 'objective' and 'independent'

joumalism and one which better serves democracy than today's journalists normally do.

Online joumalism can be functionally differentiated from other kinds of

joumalism by using its technological component as a determining factor in terms of

(operational) definition. The online joumalist has to make decisions on which media

formats best tell a certain story (multimediality), has to allow room for options for the

public to respond, interact or even customize certain stories (interactivity) and must

consider ways to connect the story to other stories, archives, resources and so on through

hyperlinks (hypertextuality). This is the 'ideal-typical' form of online joumalism, as

professed by an increasing number of professionals and academics worldwide (Reddick

and King, Friedrichsen et al. and Stielstra in Dueze, 2001).

Nearly every major newspaper now has some form of online product or

the other with larger papers having essentially put the entire paper online; even many

smaller newspapers have joined this online bandwagon and are mnning their own

operations with just a few staff (Riley et al. 1998). This is also increasingly the case in

India as well, although to a lesser degree than the US.

However, Riley et al. (1998) noticed that online newspapers have been

slow in recognizing interactivity as an essential condition of effective Web

communication. Schultz (1999) too, revealed through an exploratory content analysis of

100 online US newspapers that many of them provided only token interactive options.

This indicates that media organizations do not necessarily exploit this opportunity

effectively. Rafaeli's description of interactivity also conjures up such a picture of

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unfulfilled potential in terms of the interactive nature of the use of the new technologies

but he does maintain that along the continuum of interactivity, there are settings that

make it more likely that full interactivity will occur (Schultz 2000).

2.2 The US and Indian Context


Hagen (2000:58) asserts that within the context of rife disillusionment

with the role of traditional mass media in the political process in the United States, the

advent of a new communication technology such as the Internet is bound to crystallize as

a point of hope for a better and more meaningful discourse in the public sphere. The

Internet and the role of media on the Internet form just as much a point of hope for India

which is the largest democracy and is viewed as a future economic super power.

The United States has seen the development of a movement for what is

variously called 'public' or 'civic' journalism in recent years, which aims to reflect more

accurately a wider range of public views on specific issues through changes in the

research and reporting approaches of journalists while maintaining journalists' self-styled

leadership role. The movement especially sees newspapers and their Websites as

instrumental in developing a new form of 'civic commons' where solutions to existing

problems are found through constructive debates orchestrated and led by editors and

journalists on their pages (Bums, 2004). Notably, then, public or civic journalism could

be hoped to take off in India too with the interactive features underpinning the country's

news-sites (for example by allowing readers to 'have their say' on the news).

Internet arrived in India in mid-1990's, though it existed in the advanced

world for over two decades. According to Sengupta (2001), Internet journalism, once

dismissed as a nerd medium by traditional Indian mastheads, is fast reviving anti-

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establishment reportage and gaining an independent identity through irreverent expose of

sleaze in government and society.

With emerging Internet and networking technologies like weblogs, chat

rooms, message boards, wikis and mobile computing, the concept of

participatory/citizen's journalism began to flourish. Indians have already awakened to the

fact of blogging, with people from all around the country voicing their opinion on varied

issues. During the 2004 tsunami crisis, blogs like tsunamihelp.blogspot.com helped in

generating participatory stories from the country on the issue.

Sassi (2000:90) remarks that with every change in the media landscape, as

with for example the emergence and augmentation of information networks today, the

Utopia of the capability of new media for advancing democracy and empowering citizens

surfaces anew.

Technological change in the news media has always led to great

challenges but it also leads to greater opportunity. The emergence of the World Wide

Web presents journalists with an entirely new medium unfettered by many of the

constraints of other news media (Reddick & King 1995:237).

Along with terms like 'multimedia', 'hypermedia', 'media


convergence', 'digitization' and 'information
superhighway', 'interactivity' is presumably among the
words currently surrounded by the greatest amount of
hype. The concept seems loaded with positive connotations
along the lines of high tech, technological advancement,
hypermodernity and futurism, along the lines of individual
freedom of choice, personal development, self
determination - and even along the lines of folksy
popularization, grassroots democracy, and political
independence. (Jensen 1998:185).

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The benefits of interactivity in inducing user participation are evident, but

whether all the claims of the new medium are achieved remains a matter of animated

debate. What is clear, however, is that its interactive potential is significant and holds

promising results for democracy, the role of journalism in this, its audiences and society

at large (Folayan 2004).

Therefore, a study and examination of tools and techniques that enhance

interactive communications, the level of their presence and use on online journalism sites

of the two countries, US and India, seems to be a useful contribution to these debates.

The study asks, to what extent, the news-sites of a developed and a developing country

live up to the hype of interactivity and its potential.

2.3 Interactivity and Participatory Communication

Researchers and practitioners have fi-equently expressed disappointment

regarding the communication between audiences and journalists. As Schultz (2000:206)

puts it, the tradition of an emancipatory media theory is concerned mostly with the

problem of people easily becoming passive consumers of mass media's manipulated or

commercialized content; a problem probably arising in part because "the old mass media

produced their messages largely independent from the audiences".

Traditional media outlets have fimctioned as the gatekeepers of

information for society as described through the dominant paradigm for mass

communication theory (McQuail, 1994). It follows a one-to-many communication model

where one producer attempts to reach as many readers or viewers as possible considering

the audience as passive consumers of information.

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Technologically, there are now more possibilities for a dynamic

citizenship and ideally, new media can assist consensus-finding processes that augment

open and free public discourse. The claims of the Internet about its benefits over

traditional media are ample: providing far more interactive opportunities, enhancing

participation of audiences, providing new ways of organizing forums for discussion and

debate, being a technology for the enhancement of democracy and providing far more

information at a greater speed and scale (Lax 2000; Hacker & van Dijk 2000).

Online newspapers, like other online media, have the potential to be

interactive and more so than their traditional counterparts. This ultimately provides them

with the potential to foster participation and uphold the ideals of public journalism, the

public sphere and democracy. "Properly approached, public journalism is about

challenging people to interact with journalists and with each other as concerned citizens"

(Rosen, 1996:16). This approach assumes that there is a connection between the state of

democracy and interactive communications stimulated by media organizations (Schultz,

1999).

While citizens can discuss public matters with their family, friends,

colleagues and with members of associations that they have joined, they have relatively

few chances to access public forums and to interact with journalists and with strangers

who read the same newspaper or follow the same news magazine. Here interactivity can

be understood as a formal element of (unmediated or mediated) conversations (Schultz,

1999).

According to a model of online journalism by Dueze (2001), the content-

connectivity domain intersects with (vertical axis) the participatory communication

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domain, where the news site indeed consists of a range of options for users and producers

to interact, discuss, up- or download, to communicate in a participatory way.


CI osed Participatory Communication
\9

o
Open Participatory Communication
Model of Online Journalism adapted from Deuze (2001).

Editorial content is defined here as texts (including written and spoken

word, moving and still images), produced and/or edited by journalists. Public

connectivity can be seen as what Od\yzko (20^1) caWs 'stafidaid pomt-to-pomV

communication, to which one might add the notion of 'public' communication without a

formal barrier of entry (such as an editing or moderation process). The vertical axis

represents the level of participatory communication offered through a news site: a site

can be considered to be 'open' when it allows users to share comments, posts, files (i.e.

content) without moderating or filtering intervention. On the other end, 'closed'

participatory communication can be defined as a site where user5 may participate but

their communicative acts are subject to strict editorial control. (Extracted from Dueze

2001).

Dueze (2001) explains through his model on online journalism that the

'mainstream news-sites' generally offer a selection of editorial content and a minimal,

often moderated form of participatory communication (as cited by Schuhz, 1999; Kermey

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et al 2000). Most online newspapers fall into this category. These types of news-sites

cannot be said to differ - in their approach to journalistic storytelling, news values,

relationships with audiences - fundamentally from journalism as it is practiced in print or

broadcasting media. Dueze determined that 'index and category sites' (like search

engines, some market research firms or agencies) offer links to existing news-sites

elsewhere on the Web, where links are sometimes categorized and even annotated by

editorial teams. Such sites generally do not offer much editorial content of their own, but

do at times offer areas for chat or exchanging news, tips and links by the general public -

for instance maintaining some kind of bulletin board system (BBS). 'Meta and comment

sites', Dueze adds, are news-sites about news media and media issues in general;

sometimes intended as media watchdogs (Mediachannel, Freedomforum, Poynter's

Medianews, etc.) where editorial content is often produced by a variety of journalists as

well as content found elsewhere on the Internet is discussed in terms of the imderlying

media production processes. This 'journalism about joiunalism' or meta-joumalism

particularly flourishes online. Dueze further goes on to describe 'share and discussion

sites' which primarily facilitate platforms for the exchange of ideas, sometimes centered

around a specific theme (Independent Media Centers, generally known as: Indymedia) or

computer news (Slashdot, featuring a tagline reading: News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters).

This type of online journalism has also been described as 'group weblogs', offering

personal accounts of a more or less unlimited number of individuals about their

experiences on the Internet (Lasica, 2001).

The above discussion about Dueze's model of online journalism

consolidates the view that for a news-site to become interactive in a participatory way the

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particular newsroom has to undergo quite a few changes and face some tough choices

about values, goals and standards - let alone dealing with the problematic commercial

aspects of electronic publishing routines and the impact such choices may have on

management and newsroom organization. The 'producer = consumer - producer' rhetoric

of the Internet is yet to attain a tangible shape in the mainstream news-sites.

Consequently, examination and consideration of tools and techniques that

may foster interactive communication in the US and Indian news-sites appear to be

highly significant. In the backdrop of gaining an insight into interactivity in news-sites of

a developed and a developing nation, the present study intends to assess the ability of

online medium in these countries to serve as cornerstone for participatory

communication. Herein lies the significance and relevance of this study that examines the

provision of interacfive options in the news-sites of the two countries.

2.4 Employing Models of Communication


New media represent a mounting challenge to traditional media and

communication research, a challenge that demands a thorough rethinking of all central

models and concepts (Jensen 1998:187).

Interactive systems are a new hybrid of interpersonal and mass

communication found in new media where as the traditional model of communication

just does not correspond with these interactive systems (Kenny et al. 2000). The key

element in media typology developed by Bordewijk and Kaam (1986) and used

extensively by Jensen (1998:186) is control. McQuail (2000) too has explicated it as a

four-part typology of information traffic.

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One dimension of the model is defined by control of information source

and the other by control of time and choice of subject. This control may reside either in a

central source or with the individual.

Control of Information Source


Central • Individual
Individual Consultation Conversation
Control of time and
choice of subject
Central Allocution Registration

Figure 1 - A Typology of Information Traffic adapted from McQuail (2000).

Allocution refers to situations in which information is distributed from a

center simultaneously to many peripheral receivers. The pattern applies to many mass

media as well as to other communication forms such as lectures or concerts. Allocution

is typically one-way communication with very little feedback opportunity (McQuail

2000:130). Jenson (1998) portrayed transmissional (or allocutional) interactivity as a

measure of a medium's potential to let the user choose from a continuous stream of

information in a one-way media system.

Consultation occurs when an individual looks for information at a central

information store. In the context of computer-mediated communication this may include

databases, CD-ROM, etc (McQuail 2000:130). Jensen (1998) says consultational

interactivity is a measure of a medium's potential to let the user choose, by request, from

an existing selection of pre-produced information in a two-way media system.

Registration is, in essence, the reverse of Consultation. The organization

at the center receives information from a participant at the periphery. This applies when

central records are kept of individuals in a system and it also applies to systems of

surveillance. The accumulation of information at a center often takes place without

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reference to, or knowledge of the individual. Many communication technologies make

Registration more feasible. The use of 'cookies' to track and customize content for

visitors to Web sites is one example of the Registration potential of computer-mediated

communication (McQuail 2000:130). Defining registrational interactivity, Jensen (1998)

explained it as a measure of a medium's potential to register information from, and

thereby also adapt and/or respond to, a given user's explicit choice of communication

method.

Conversation occurs when individuals interact directly with each other

bypassing central controfs or intermediaries. Individuals choose their communication

partners as well as the time, place, and topic of communication (McQuail 2000:130).

Jensen (1998) explicates conversational interactivity as a measure of a medium's

potential to let the user produce and input his/her own information in a two-way media

system. Massey and Levy (1999) categorize this conversational-style interactivity as

'interpersonal interactivity' to differentiate it from what they categorize as 'content

interactivity;' the degree to which content creators empower consumers over content.

Fidler (1997) theorized that the new cyber-media are simply one more

stage in the evolution of media, or what he calls 'mediamorphosis.' He acknowledged

three 'domains' of communication: Broadcast, Document, and Interpersonal. He

observed that technology enables individuals to experience the Interpersonal domain in

new ways. Nevertheless, he argued that much of the future of computer-mediated

communication would continue to draw on the Broadcast and Document domains. He

suggested that these forms are likely to resemble Allocution, Consultation, and

Registration while Conversation will remain a separate form in the Interpersonal domain.

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Both Fidler (1997) and Jensen (1998) emphasized two-way communication in their

discussions of evolving computer-mediated, interactive media.

Ritual and publicity models of communication also provide a theoretical

basis for studying interactivity of online newspapers. The ritual model is linked to terms

such as sharing and participation and consequently seems more suited than the traditional

transmission model, especially that interactive features on online newspapers support a

two-way or multi-directional flow of communication among a community of users

(Kenny et al. 2000). Through listening to and involving online readers in the collection of

news, online journalists endeavour not only to increase reader satisfaction but also to

make their readers revisit- their sites. This upholds the ideals of the publicity model and

shows that it can also be applied to online newspapers (Kenny et al. 2000).

McMillan (2002) used two key dimensions viz. receiver's control in

communication and direction of communication, to form a four-part model of cyber-

interactivity. In Figure 2, control is illustrated with circles indicating individuals' role in

communication. Direction of communication is illustrated with arrows or overlapping

circles.

Direction of Communication
One-Way Two-Way
Feedback Mutual Discourse

Level of
User Control
High

Monologue
09
Responsive Dialogue
Low
\V "\^ 0—©
S = Sender, R = Receiver, P = Participant (sender/receiver roles are interchangeable)

Figure 2 - Four Models of Cyber-Interactivity

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Monologue, with primarily one-way communication and relatively little

receiver control over the communication process, resembles Allocution. Senders create

and disseminate content to attract an audience, promote a product or service, build a

brand, or perform some other persuasive communication function. Most corporate Web

sites provide an example of Monologue.

Feedback is still primarily one-way communication but it allows receivers

to have limited participation in the communication process. Feedback tools such as e-

mail links allow the receiver to communicate with the sender. However, in this model,

the sender and receiver roles are still very distinct. Even though the receiver may

communicate with the sender, there is no guarantee that the sender will respond to the

Feedback that has been received. In some ways. Feedback resembles both Consultation

and Public Information. The receiver can consult with the provider of information in

terms over which the receiver has some control. In other words, there may be some

symmetry in the communication goals.

Responsive Dialogue enables two-way communication but the sender

retains primary control over communication. This type strongly resembles the Two-Way

Asymmetric model. It may also use techniques typical of the Registration model for

monitoring the communication process. Responsive Dialogue may take place in

environments such as e»-commerce in which the sender makes goods and services

available, the receiver selects and orders desired goods/services, and the sender

acknowledges receipt of the order. Online customer support sites, and sites that solicit

volunteer participation in non-profit organizations, may also utilize Responsive Dialogue.

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Mutual Discourse enables two-way communication and gives receivers a

great deal of control over the communication experience. This strongly resembles the

Conversation and Two-Way Symmetric models. The sender and receiver roles become

virtually indistinguishable in environments such as chat rooms, bulletin boards, etc. A

key to Mutual Discourse is that all participants have the opportunity to send and receive

messages. (Extracted from McMillan 2002).

Another body of literature addresses the concept of interactivity from the

perspective of media features. Researchers in this tradition define interactivity based on

how many and what types of features allow for interactive communication. This aspect is

discussed in the next section.

2.5 Interactivity - Definitions, Dimensions and Constructs

2.5.01 Definitions

The intricacies involved in the idea of interactivity make it difficult to give

it an exact definition. Being a fairly new concept within the area of communication

studies fiirther contributes to the problem of an accurate definition explicating it. Rafaeli

(1988); calls it an under-defined concept with narrowly based explications while Kenny

et al. (2000) say it is a concept that few have defined. However, this section will draw

attention to some notable definitions and explanations that exist on the subject within the

area of communication studies and research and especially those that will prove

significant for the purpose of the present study.

Interactivity requires a thread of messages, i.e. a chain of interrelated

messages. The degree to which communication transcends reaction is key. In one-way

communication, one source sets the agenda, receiving no or (at most) indirect feedback.

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In two-way and reactive communication, both sides "send" messages. "Two-way

communication is present as soon as messages flow bilaterally. Reactive settings require,

in addition, that later messages refer to (or cohere with) earlier ones" (Rafaeli in Schultz,

1999).

Rafaeli and Sudweeks (1997) contend that interactivity is a continuum as

well as a variable, and not just a condition of communication settings. In other words,

interactivity is not just a condition that exists within communication settings of new

media but rather a construct that is related to and achieved through a process or processes

within such communication settings.

According to Folyan (2004:6), this explication of interactivity highlights

an important point that interactivity does not necessarily just exists or is inherent within

new communication technologies such as the Internet; it is instead something that must

be aimed for and worked at in order for its full potential to be achieved and realized.

Two journalism professors at Boston College, McMillan and Downes

(1998) write that interactivity increases as:

• the goal of communication is more to exchange information than to

persuade participants have greater control of the communication

environment

• participants take an active role to fully benefit from the communication

• participants act and react to messages via two-way communication

• timing of > communication is flexible and responsive to demands of

participants

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• communication environment creates a sense of place (Extracted from

Kenney et al, 2000).

There have been various categorizations of interactivity out of which

human interactivity vs. medium interactivity is one such distinction. Stromer-Galley

(2001) also recognized this separation between the two types of interactivity in her

research on candidate websites. She considers human interactivity to be more interactive

because it more closely resembles face-to-face interpersonal communication.

Despite the words 'interactivity' and 'interactive media' being so

contemporary and having many positive associations, it still seems rather unclear, by

comparison to their popularity, just what the terms and concepts mean. According to

Jensen (1998:185), "the positiveness surrounding the concepts and the frequency of their

use seem, in a way, to be reversely proportional to their precision and actual content of

meaning."

Terms like 'interactivity' invite multiplicity of meanings depending on the

context in which they are used. Certainly, Jensen (1998:188) and McMillan (2002:163)

go onto say as much by further adding that the concept of interactivity can mean different

things depending on the context within which it is used. Here, it would be appropriate to

study definitions of interactivity from different aspects viz. process, features, control and

perception.

a) Process

Focusing on the process, interactivity has been defined differently by

different scholars. Haeckel (1998:63) acknowledges, "The essence of interactivity is

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exchange." Palvik (1996:137) views interactivity as "two-way communication between

source and receiver, or, more broadly multidirectional communication between any

number of sources and receivers". Steuer (1992:84) dwelt upon real time participation in

the process while depicting it as "the extent to which users can participate in modifying

the form and content of a mediated environment in real-time."

b) Features

Keeping in view the features sported by interactivity, scholars like Carey

(1998:328) contends that interactive media are "technologies that provide person-to-

person communications mediated by a telecommunications channel and person-to-

machine interactions that simulate interpersonal exchange." In the same way, while

discussing website features, McMillan (2000a) identified thirteen features that might

suggest that a website is interactive, including, email links, registration forms,

survey/comment forms, chat rooms, search engines and games.

c) Control

Some scholars defined interactivity based on the notion of control.

Williams et al (1988) propose that interactivity can be defined as a three-dimensional

construct. It comprises of control, exchange of roles and mutual discourse. Likewise,

Neuman (1991) denotes interactivity as the "quality of electronically mediated

communications characterized by increased control over the communications process by

both sender and receiver"(As seen in Chung and Zhao, 2004). Similarly, Jensen (1998)

highlights features that enable user control while defining interactivity as "a measure of a

media's potential ability to let the user exert an influence on the content and/or form of

the mediated communication" (Jensen 1998:201).

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d) Perception

Definitions that focus on perception include researchers like McMillan

(2000b) in whose study individuals rated interactivity of sites on the basis of their

perceptions of two-way communication, level of control, user activity, sense of place and

time sensitivity. Another scholar Wu (1999:6) found "perceived interactivity could be

defined as a two-component construct consisting of navigation and responsiveness."

e) Combination of process, features and/or perception

In this category, McMillan (2002) identified four types of interactivity

based on intersection of user control and direction of communication: monologue,

feedback, responsive dialogue and mutual discourse. Heeter (1989) viewed interactivity

as a multidimensional concept. A more uniform and analytical approach may be found

in her effort to combine the wide-ranging definitions of interactivity that have been

applied to new communication technologies in general.

2.5.02 Heeter's Dimensions of Interactivity

Interactivity, Heeter (1989) argues, can occur along six dimensions and

some mass communication scholars have operationalized them for research.

1. Complexity of Choice Available

This dimension is, in fact, 'selectivity' and it concerns the extent to which

users are provided choices of available information. So, the more choice the user has or

the more choice the medium provides, the higher the interactivity of the user or the

medium. This, according to Massey and Levy (1999), would empower the site's users

with many choices for exercising control over information. Succinctly, it means

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facilitating control for the user through multiplicity of choice in selecting hyperlinks, text,

graphics, etc.

2. Responsiveness to the User

This dimension is "the degree to which a communication exchange

resembles human discourse" (Heeter, 1989:223). Therefore, hvmianlike responsiveness is

the highest level of interactivity, and if media have higher interactivity, they react to a

user like a human. Kenney et al (2000) explain that online newspapers can interpose a

human who responds to user queries or they can use technology to respond. Usually, of

course, reporters or editors simply answer e-mail questions from users of their online site.

Computer response, however, is possible, and ultimate machine interactivity is achieved

when communication roles of human and machine are interchangeable (Rafaeli, 1988).

This shows that responsiveness can be achieved by providing generalized or personalized

emails of the staff members, or any option that requires a human or computer generated

response from the news providers.

3. Ease of Adding Information to the System

In a high-interactive medium, a user can add information to the system

that a mass, undifferentiated audience can access. 'Interactive' online journalism, under

this dimension, is defined as the technological empowerment of Web newspaper readers

for synchronous, one-to-many communication (Massey and Levy 1999). Similarly,

Kenney et al (2000) state that with this dimension, the user becomes the reporter-editor,

and the message intentionally is transmitted to a larger audience. If online Web sites

make it easy for users to add information, then they empower users. Some online

newspapers allow users to add the following types of information: Web pages, hobby and

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special interest pages, announcements of births, marriages and deaths and reviews of

movies, plays and other cultural and entertainment events. Some online newspapers also

allow users to make contributions to reporters' stories.

4. Facilitation of Interpersonal Communication

This refers to a Web newspaper's potential for offering itself as a digital

conduit through which a reader can carry on a synchronous, one-to-one interaction with

another reader (Massey and Levy 1999). In other words, a high-interactive medium can

facilitate interpersonal communication among users through chats, discussion forums,

message boards, etc.

5. Efforts Users Must Exert

Paisley (1983: 155) defined interactivity mathematically as "the ratio of

user activity to system activity" (In Kenney et al, 2000). At one extreme, users exert no

effort beyond reading the text information which an online newspaper automatically

"pushes" to them based upon information the users provided about themselves. At the

other extreme, users select each "page" or screen to view, sending a message to the

central computer asking to display the requested page. These extremes lead executives of

online newspapers to ask: How much effort do users wish to exert? Some believe that

computers that "push" the news to users will reduce user effort, and that such a reduction

is desirable. Others believe that users like to "work" because they feel in control and

because they can get the precise information they want (Kenney et al, 2000). The more

number of clicks it takes for the user to find information sought, the more effort exerted

by the user. This makes the site less interactive in this regard (Kenney et al, 2000).

Therefore, a high-interactive medium allows users to access information easily.

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6. Monitoring Information Use

Unlike the other dimensions, this one derives from the perspective of the

online newspaper. In a high-interactive medium, user selection of information can be

monitored across the entire population of users.

A monitoring device is defined as any explicit means by which a Web site

operator can record who has visited the site and/or which part of the site they visited. The

potential for continuous monitoring of system use has implications for billing and for

programming system content to meet user interests. Of course, this information also is a

valuable measure of how the site has attracted and maintained user's attention. Kenney et

al (2000) measured it by the presence of three monitoring mechanisms: visitor

registration, visitor counters that display the number of visitors to a site and cookie files.

"Cookies" are packets of data transmitted by a Web server to the hard drive of a user's

computer. They store the user's ID or Internet address when the user logs onto the Web

server and provide information on the user's prior pattern of visits.

Heeter (1989) also points out that as technology is continuously

developing, users have much more control over the information they wish to be exposed

to, which is a form of 'selective exposure'. So, among the six dimensions of interactivity,

selective exposure is becoming a more important factor to give users a feel of

interactivity in a new medium environment.

2.5.03 Additional Dimension by Massey and Levy

A new dimension was suggested by Massey and Levy (1999) for

immediacy of information, a journalistic concept not accommodated by Heeter's broad

package of measures. They defined 'immediacy of content' as technological ability to

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instantly report an unfolding news event may be the one characteristic of online

journalism that most clearly distinguishes it from traditional journalism. It can be defined

as the extent to which a Web newspaper offers its readers the most immediately available

information.

2.5.04 Explication of Interactivity by Ha and James

Ha and J ^ e s (1998) studied interactive features at business Web sites

rather than online newspaper sites, but their study is particularly relevant because they

thoroughly examined the concept of interactivity, suggesting it has five dimensions:

playfulness, choice, connectedness, information collection and reciprocal

communication.

The first dimension is "playfulness." They opined that the playfulness

dimension of interactivity is within oneself rather than with another person, but because

the communication need of an audience member on many occasions represents a desire to

communicate with oneself rather than with others, they suggested that playfulness should

be included as one dimension of interactivity. The second dimension of interactivity is

"choice." This dimension of interactivity has the same meaning as Heeter's "complexity

of choice" dimension. Providing a choice of several options that users can choose can

increase the perceived interactivity between users and the medium, in this case the Web.

The third dimension of interactivity is "connectedness." They suggested that because the

Web can offer diverse connections through hyperlinks, users can have more interaction

with a website. The fourth dimension of interactivity is "information collection." From

the viewpoint of a provider, information about the users is the most important, especially

when the websites are commercial in nature. So, if the user provides the information, he

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willingly interacts with a website or a medium. The final dimension of interactivity is

"reciprocal communication." The more reciprocal the communication between the site

visitor and the website provider or owner, the more the site can respond to the particular

needs of visitors. So, the perceived interactivity can be increased.

2.5.05 Measurement Constructs for the Present Study

Quantitative content analysis enables the studying and analyzing of

communication in a systematic, objective, and quantitative manner for the purpose of

measuring variables (Wimmer & Dominick 1994:163-164). It is a "research technique for

the objective, systematic and quantitative description of the manifest content of

communication" (Berelson in McQuail 2000:325).

This research will carry out quantitative content analysis of the US and

Indian news-sites based on the use of content in the broadest sense to encompass

interactive tools and features that have become characteristic of the Internet.

The unit of analysis according to Wimmer and Dominick (1994:170) may

include both humans as well as documents such as newspapers, television programmes or

magazines. In this case, this can be extended to include a website or particular features of

a website. The unit of analysis (descriptive content analysis will be used to define each

unit of analysis) is each interactive feature of the online newspaper.

Massey and Levy (1999) operationalized Heeter's conceptual definition

and examined websites for interactivity based on presence of fimctional features such as

e-mail links, feedback forms, and chat rooms. McMillan (1998) also used Heeter's

conceptual definition of interactivity to test the hypothesis that websites funded by for-

profit companies and advertising have lower levels of interactivity than sites that receive

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the majority of their funding from volunteer efforts, non-profit organizations,

government/education and mixed funding sources. Her feature list also included many of

those identified by Massey and Levy as well as bulletin boards, search engines, and forms

for registration and online ordering. Ha and James (1998) identified additional

interactive features including curiosity-arousal devices, games, user choice, and surveys.

Kenny et al. (2000) also conceptualized categories of analysis from dimensions of

interactivity in order to render those dimensions measurable.

Heeter's (1989) dimensions of interactivity are specific and measurable

and will largely be adopted in this study in addition to some more dimensions which were

constructed by other researchers. As Heeter's definition of interactivity was written to

encompass all new media, it was relatively easy to adapt all her six dimensions of the

concept to news-sites. Hence, this study will break down interactivity into measurable

dimensions to construct categories of analysis.

Each site will be coded for the presence or absence of various types of

content and features that tap into the technology of the Net. A measurement construct of

ten broad dimensions was created.

All the six dimensions from Heeter's definition have been taken into

account to study interactivity of the news-sites. The dimension of 'immediacy of content'

has been drawn fi-om Massey and Levy (1999) as it has not been included in Heeter's

definition.

'Playfulness' has been derived for Ha and James (1998) since news-sites

are more of an infotainment product. They related playfulness to the entertainment value

43
provided by interactive games and curiosity arousal devices. The other dimensions of Ha

and James have not been included so as to circumvent overlapping of dimensions.

'Interactivity in promotional tools' is another dimension created in

addition to the dimensions already given by the previous researchers. Promotional tools

cannot be divorced from the news as the vehicle of mass media runs on the wheels oiled

by advertisement revenue. Also, Kenney et al (2000) indicate that 'news' cannot be

distinguished from 'advertising' because both are important to understanding the

interactivity of online newspapers. Their study too examined advertising (display or

classified) or related services. Hence, this dimension has been framed for the present

study.

Another dimension that has been created for the present study is

'personalization and customization features.' News-sites that are successfiil offer

customization and interactive features according to a report from JupiterResearch as

quoted by newswatch.in (http://www.newswatch.in/?p=2846). Customization on a

website may also lead to a more interactive experience (Chung, 2003). Guay (1995)

argues that websites that adapt to the user's behavior display the most sophisticated level

of interactivity. Once certain information is collected, the website can make a fiirther step

by taking the information collected by the user and then tailoring the information to the

user's liking. Websites can tailor the weather or topics to the user for a personalized

experience. Lasica (1998) says this characteristic of the Internet "micro-targets"

individuals. Personalization can be achieved through personalized content, personalized

news experience and personalized services. This dimension also represents medium-

human interactivity.

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Therefore, the ten dimensions, which will steer the course of this research

work, are as follows:

1. Complexity of Choice Available was conceptualized as navigational choice

through hyperlinks, user empowerment through choice of text or graphics,

information retrieval from various sections of one's choice, multimedia, archival

and search ability to find information one wants.

2. Responsiveness to the User was operationalized as the provision of email links

to journalists, personalized and generalized email addresses, separate emails for

technical departments, etc.

3. Email based electronic forms, facility to post comments, blogs and reader polls on

news topics of the day were coded as examples of the Ease of Adding

Information to the System.

4. Facilitation of Interpersonal Communication was conceptualized as moderated

and unmoderated chat rooms, discussion forums, etc.

5. Efforts Users Must Exert was framed as number of clicks required for

information retrieval and links to most sought after items on a news-site to reduce

extra effort of the user.

6. The option of registration with the news-site, enabling of cookie files and display

of visitor counters were taken into account for Monitoring Information Use.

7. For Immediacy of Content the update fime on a news-site of a publicafion and

presence of an 'update ticker' were included.

8. Personalization and Customization Features was operationalized as features

like clipping facility, news tracking, forming a user defined web page, etc.

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9. Interactivity in Promotional Tool will encapsulate the types of interactive

advertisements offered, facility to inquire and post ads.

10. Playfulness was conceptualized as the types of online games, crossword puzzles,

music downloads,-etc.

The exact number and particulars of interactive options that these

dimensions entail are discussed in the Chapter - IV. In the next chapter, an attempt has

been made to review the literature from the perspective of development stages in mass

media research.

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