Newspaper

The rapid and widespread expansion of the Internet has enabled millions of people to read a variety of daily newspapers online, usually free of charge. This trend, along with the rise of 24-hour cable television news networks, has caused subscription and circulation rates to decline. The percentage of Americans getting news from the Internet grew rapidly during the late 1990s. In 2002 some two-thirds of adult Americans were getting the news online. Roughly one fourth of all Americans get news from the Internet on an average day.

Today almost all of the world’s major newspapers have online versions. Most medium- to large-sized daily newspapers in the United States and Canada also publish on the Internet. These developments have led some media experts to predict that the printed newspaper will give way to fully electronic information services in the early decades of the 21st century. But whatever its medium—electronic or print—the newspaper will likely remain an important feature in modern society.