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Study says print readers retain more information

In a study published in the Newspaper Research Journal, people who read print publications are able to retain more information than those who read online.

Jack J. Valenti School of Communication associate professor Arthur D. Santana was the principal investigator in the study. Santana said the purpose of the study is to let publications know the various effects the readers experienced.

“Online readers are apt to acquire less information about the news than print readers because of the lack of salience cues,” Santana said in a press release. “Since online story placement and prominence are in a constant state of flux, readers are less apt to register which are the important stories of the day.”

Santana adds that the information online readers take in is short-lived.

“At the same time, the knowledge that the information they can find online, even if it disappears after reading, is immediately electronically archived and thus imminently retrievable may make readers less apt to feel they need to store it in their memory,” Santana said.

However, some UH students do not agree with the study.

“It’s not like you’re reading anything multiple times,” said construction management junior Ana Stone. “I don’t think the medium makes a big difference.”

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