Ritual and publicity models of communication provide a theoretical basis for studying interactivity of online newspapers. An operational definition of interactivity, including 18 measures, is developed and applied to an empirical study of 100 online newspapers. The study asks whether or not financing (profit vs. non-profit), type (pure Web-based vs. printed versions) and origin (U.S. vs. international) of online newspapers affect the degree of interactivity at the sites.