摘要：The Internet is no longer a novelty for either media users or professional journalists. After decades of domination of the traditional mass media, the Internet has brought some significant changes in the way that individuals satisfy their informational needs and in the way that news is shaped and presented in different media. The purpose of the research reported here was to determine how persons familiar with the Internet assess this new medium in relation to the more traditional media, such as the print media and television. The survey covered 262 respondents, whose answers were analyzed in the context of media functions and their advantages and drawbacks. The respondents were aware of the advantages of the Internet with respect to individual user needs and the social role of the media. Equally, however, they were aware also of the drawbacks of the Internet, owing to the nature of the technology on which it relies.
