Syracuse University SURFACE S.I. Newhouse School of Public Mass Communications - Dissertations Communications 12-2011 Internet Adoption and Integration by Network Television News (1997 to 2004) Katherine A. Hughes Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/com_etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Katherine A., "Internet Adoption and Integration by Network Television News (1997 to 2004)" (2011). Mass Communications - Dissertations. 86. https://surface.syr.edu/com_etd/86 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mass Communications - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Internet Adoption and Integration by Network Television News (1997 to 2004) ABSTRACT The focus of this study is broadcast network news and how the “big three” television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) responded to the Internet over an eight-year period of time, 1997 to 2004. The study measures the networks’ coverage of the Internet as a news subject and their incorporation of companion news websites into their respective nightly newscasts. Four Internet-related variables: a) news stories per newscast containing an Internet reference; b) Internet keywords; c) invitational references; and d) URL references were identified and utilized to examine whether changes exist in network coverage: a) over time; and b) relative to changes in the U.S. online population. This study found that historical time was not a significant factor in predicting the inclusion of Internet-related news stories and website references in nightly newscasts.