The market for electronic newspapers in the Arab world

An, online survey was conducted among 800 readers of Arab electronic newspapers resident in different parts of the world. The aim of the survey was to obtain baseline data about the readership for such newspapers, readers' opinions about these publications, and antecedents of overall satisfaction with the services provided by these publications. Most readers of Arab online newspapers were male, students, professionals or business persons resident overseas, and were established, regular users of the Internet. For most, the Internet was regarded as an important news source and more than half the respondents claimed to read Arab online newspapers every day. Internet news was valued because it was readily available all the time, free of charge and provided a substitute for printed newspapers not available to them in their current location. The main problems were technical, linked to difficulty downloading or browsing content. The great majority (72 per cent) were satisfied with online newspapers. Frequency of reading electronic newspapers and overall satisfaction with online newspapers were predicted.