From print to pixels: exploitation of the Internets potential by evangelical print periodical publishers

Abstract

This study explores exploitation of three potentialities of the Internet (interactivity, hypertextuality, multimediality) by member publications of the Evangelical Press Association, and the extent to which degree of exploitation by a publication is related to editorial independence and resource level. It develops and applies a content analysis coding scheme for measuring exploitation of Internet potentialities, and presents findings from a survey of editors. The study concludes that editorial independence is positively related to higher levels of website interactivity and hypertextuality, and finds that higher-resource publication websites are more likely to feature multimediality. The study recommends steps publications can take to increase their exploitation of the Internet's potential, within existing constraints of resources and organizational philosophy.