| Mobile Internet has witnessed a booming development in recent years in China. Varieties of mobile applications on smart phones or tablets become users’ top choices. One remarkable branch is news applications. They are new forms of Internet-based media which consist of properties of both the information system and the mass media. Massive amounts of information accompanied by varieties of functions are just the new way for new media development.This study attempts to look at the use of Chinese mobile news applications. Because mobile applications are mostly used among younger generations especially among students, university students in Beijing are chosen as target group of people to do the research.In order to have the systematic analyses, the study put forward an integrated model combining Technology Acceptance Model and Uses and Gratifications Theory. Technology Acceptance Model is commonly used for the spread of information systems, which stresses more on media’s functional perspective, and Uses and Gratifications Theory is widely used for media research, mainly on audience and media content. Mobile news Apps as new media, they have the properties of both information systems and mass media, so this study combines those two streams and extract valuable points from both theories to create an integrated model which is suitable for news Apps study, in order to explain the uses of news Apps by university students and identify the factors influencing media use and their gratifications.Then the thesis chooses survey and interviews as research method. Survey by questionnaires provides first-hand data to test the correctness of the model and interviews covers less mentioned points in the questionnaires and completes the model. Study shows that for university students in Beijing, news portals apps are still the main drive in the market, followed by newly emerged news aggregator apps and traditional media apps. Same with Davis’1989TAM model, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness still decide users’ behavioral intentions. Media contents and functions together affect users’ motivations, gratifications and new needs. Users’ motivations can be referred to as extrinsic motivations and intrinsic motivations. Specifically, the extrinsic motivations include ease of use, usefulness, convenience, seeking information and saving money; intrinsic motivations consist of entertainment, interpersonal utility, passing time and self-fulfillment. They together influence users’ willingness when they use news Apps. The study also shows that students’ new needs focusing on journalistic professionalism are multi-angle news presenting and more professional news reporting, and their requirements of smooth operation systems and functions optimization such as news search engine and news customization are also on the list.This study develops around the latest media form and the most active users. Combined with theories of information system and mass media, the paper merges the three aspects of media content, operation system and audience gratification of media development and creates an integrated model to study on news Apps. The overall perspectives are less studied in former researches of media, and this thesis contributes a little bit to fill the gap, which provides practical suggestions for news Apps development, and may also open opportunities for interdisciplinary research and provide insights into further studies of technology-based new media. |
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