• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.35
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• pp.211-249
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• 2006

This study investigated how many and which articles readers read in daily newspapers. Distinguished from previous research that measured readers' perception of their reading habits, this study picked up readers who read the newspaper in the morning, showed them every article in the newspaper, and asked them whether they read each article. This method enhanced the accuracy of measuring subjects‘ reading behavior. According to the results, 6.2% of the readers read at least half of the articles of the general section in the newspaper. Fewer readers went over the economic section of the newspaper. It was 4.1% of the readers. There were only 1.1% of readers who did not read any article of the general section, but the rate soared to 26.5% for the economic section. Many newspaper readers did not skip the first five pages of the newspaper, however the highest readership pages were found in the national coverage located in the middle of the general section. On the other hand, few readers read the articles on pages covering culture, international issues, and people. Readership of the top stories showed some unexpected results. The top stories of national coverage located in the middle of the general section were read by more readers than the top stories of the front pages. This study also investigated the difference between young and old readers. The readers of twenties and thirties did not read as many top stories on major pages and editorials as the readers of forties and older.