This paper explains that the 350% increase of online versions of newspapers in the last five years was assisted by the development
of speedier
broadband. The author, through several consumer research
reports, points out that generally online readers are younger, more upscale, better educated, "heavy" users of the Internet, and make more online purchases. The paper reports that, whereas the bulk of the online users may state that there has been no alteration in their conventional media habits, the reality is that a significant proportion of individuals have changed their reading habits and, within a comparatively limited time frame, have taken up novel methods of receiving the news.