Local Newspaper Readership Has Declined Significantly in Recent Years

Local newspaper readership has declined significantly in recent years. Not only are traditional newspapers losing subscribers, they are also losing advertisers. To combat these trends, many newspaper publishers now offer online versions of their printed newspapers. This is most likely a response to which environmental force?

A) economic, since few can afford a newspaper today
B) competitive, resulting from new, smaller local newspapers that are flourishing
C) technological, since high-speed printing presses have become more easy to use
D) social, resulting from changing consumer preferences for information delivered online
E) regulatory, since the government provides tax incentives for paper-based products