New Media and Mass Communication www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3267 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3275 (Online) Vol.65, 2017 57 New Media, E- Publishing and the Fearful Realities: Implications for the Survival of Traditional Print Media in Nigeria DR. BABALEYE Taye 1 * OLUWASOLA Omolola 2 , LAYEFA, Goodluck 3 , ALETOR Jennifer 4 1. Head, Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 2. Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 3. Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 4. Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria *Email of Corresponding author: tayebabaleye@gmail.com Abstract The study examined New Media, E-publishing and the Fearful Realities; Implications for the Survival of Traditional Print Media in Nigeria with particular focus on news media consumption patterns of university students in Ado Ekiti, South-west, Nigeria. Anchored on the Uses and Gratification and Diffusion of Innovations Theories, the survey research design was applied for the study. Questionnaire was administered on 200 respondents but 192 of them adequately responded and were analyzed. Stratified and convenience sampling techniques were employed to draw samples. Findings from the study revealed that new media in journalism practice poses a threat to the readership of traditional print media. A total of 93% of the respondents have very high access to online news sources, 3% of them have high access to online news sources, while 2%) of the respondents have average access to online news sources. The other 2% of the respondents have low access to online news sources. Majority of the respondents read online newspapers more than they read traditional newspapers which shows that there is a drastic downward trend of the readership figures of traditional print media. The study recommends that print media publishers in Nigeria should re-strategize to improve readership among students of tertiary institutions because they form a large percentage of newspaper readers in the country. Keywords: New Media, online news sources, print media 1. INTRODUCTION Advancements in technology and the internet have greatly changed the way things are done virtually in all fields of human endeavour including the media landscape. Conversely, the media consumption habit of readers has also changed because the Internet has enabled thousands of students to communicate directly with one another through blogs or instant message services. Indeed, the internet is increasingly asserting itself as a prime source of news and information globally, thus threatening the future existence and relevance of traditional news media such as newspapers and magazines. Its negative effect on sales and revenue streams of newspapers on the one hand, and its potential and ability to enhance the newsgathering and dissemination of printed publications are issues that have fed debate about the effect of online news sources on newspaper. Although the effect of the internet on traditional media is gaining currency, scholars hardly agree on the precise impact of the online newspapers on the printed traditional newspapers. While some argue that the internet is the new “knight” in a shining amour with vast potentials to uplift struggling publications, others posit that it constitutes the biggest threat to the printed newspapers because newspaper readers now spend more time surfing the internet while advertisers are migrating to the new medium leaving printed newspapers battling to keep their noses above water. Because of the polarized views on the subject the precise effect of the internet on the printed newspaper remains more a subject of conjecture than anything else. The connection between the online news sources and the printed newspapers is something worthy of academic inquiry given the enormous influence of the newspapers in Africa. (Ekeng, 2010); However, “during the early years of the internet, online newspaper sites were slow to innovate. There was a fear that the web site would steal readers of the print version. Thus, many of them simply took their print stories and placed them online, updating them only once daily. Some even withheld stories until they were published in the print edition. Newspapers, however, now realize that if they want to compete with other news sites such as CNN and CBS News, their Web sites have to do more (Dominick, 2010: 115) in Kasmi (2015) Experts in the nation‘s media and marketing communication industries at a forum organized by the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria, (AAAN), in 2010 in Lagos, raised alarm on the future of newspapers in Nigeria. Majority of them concluded that unless the print media braced up to the challenges posed by the new