Journalism And Media Relations

Street Sign With Media Types as DirectionalsAccording to computer giant IBM, 2.5 exabytes – that’s 2.5 billion gigabytes (GB) – of data was generated every day in 2012. That includes print, digital video, audio, and every possible social media mashup and trend to stimulate somebody’s glandular system. Getting the story is as important as telling the story. And getting both of them right is the hallmark of quality content.

@mp_research has written about some of the new elements journalists have to contend with to tell a relevant story. After all, its all  news all the time for somebody Extra, Extra! .Read all about disruption in journalism, media and the news.

According tothe results of the 2015 Business Wire Media Survey.an analysis of journalists from around the globe show that upstarts like BuzzFeed and the New York Times represent the future of news reporting and they plan to incorporate livestream technologies like Periscope and Meerkat into their reporting more than traditional multimedia sources like Getty or the AP.

The report says that the big story in the study is one of disruption, and the big question: Is your media relations programming changing fast enough to meet the needs of today’s 24/7 media?

This survey identifies the profile of today’s media in order to best understand who represents the news creators and distributors. The results contain insights from editors, reporters, writers, columnists, and bloggers, many of whom have been in the industry for more than 20 years and actively use corporate news as the basis for articles and posts. (Charts found at end of ResearchBrief)

One of the biggest changes in the last decade has been the rise of new technologies and their impact upon news creation, delivery and consumption. For media outlets, the biggest shift continues to be the movement of readership from print to web, and now mobile devices. This shift provides limitless opportunities for reporters to reach and engage readers throughout the day via fresh content and via quickly adopted formats such as livestream video, but with this shift comes a need for faster content creation, resulting in faster turnaround time, says the report.

Type Of Medium Primarily Reporting
Medium % Of Respondents
Radio 3.7%
Television 1.8%
Newspaper 17.7%
Website 36.3%
Magazine 24.7%
Blog 6.5%
Other 9.3%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015

The primary internal metrics used to evaluate the success of a reporter’s story, says the report, include the number of page views (59.1%) and unique visits (46.5%) to the story, as well as social media activity such as likes, tweets, sharing and emailing (48.8%) and comments l (19.5%) on the individual article.

Print, Phone, Pad News Delivery OptionsWhen it comes to how journalists prefer to receive breaking news, email alerts (66.5%) and newswire delivered press releases (20.9%) are still the most desired methods. Only 3.7% prefer to use social media platforms as a resource for receiving breaking news stories, while text messages and telephone calls (total 2.8%) are the least favored.

Preferred Method For Receiving Breaking News From An Organization
Preferred Receipt % of Respondents
Email alert with link to full press release 66.5%
Other 5.6%
Social media posting 3.7%
Newswire press release 20.9%
Telephone call 2.3%
Text message .5%
Company blog post .5%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015

Social Media Channels As Microphone IdentifyiersThe role of social media platforms is changing to be more oriented toward news discovery and sharing as well as providing additional content and information for today’s reporters. 74.9% of respondents use social media platforms for work-related research, however, 74% said they prefer not to receive story pitches via social media platforms.

34.5% of Asia-Pacific respondents, and 50% of South American media are more likely to receive pitches through Facebook than any other social channels, finds the study. However, 50% of reporters in these regions prefer not to be pitched through any social channels.

The survey results showcase the specific news topics a reporter needs to not only consider writing about your news, but to also produce a strong piece of editorial coverage. The most sought-after type of press release information reporters want from an organization is:

  • Breaking news (75.3%)
  • Followed by interesting story angles (72.1%)
  • Supporting facts (68.8%)
  • Trending industry topics (56.7%)
  • Quotable sources (50.7%)
  • Company background information (51.2%)

Content Element Platfomrs Audio, Video, TextToday’s most compelling news articles include a good headline and an interesting and relevant story, augmented by intriguing multimedia. In this survey, we asked reporters how likely they would be to use a company-issued news release if it included multimedia elements.

36.3% of responding reporters said they would be likely to use a news release if it included multimedia. The element most preferred is a photograph (82.8%), then:

  • Graphics (48.4%)
  • Video files (38.1%)
  • Infographics (35.8%)
  • Logos (27.4%)

When news is being consumed so rapidly and abundantly, the role of newswires in journalism remains vital in the news creation space, says the report.

A majority of media respondents (84.7%) use commercial newswire services to find and augment their news coverage, with 53.5% referring to newswires daily or several times a day. When asked what newswire they relied on the most, 67.4% of respondents chose Business Wire as their most utilized commercial newswire resource for researching an organization.

Frequency Using Newswire Service
Frequency Used % of Respondents
Several times/day 23.7%
Several times/week 10.7%
Monthly 1.9%
Occasionally 9.3%
I don’t use a newswire 15.3%
Weekly 6%
Several times/month 3.3%
Daily 29.8%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015

The survey also aimed to identify what steps communicators could take to support the journalists covering their stories. The most requested step asks communication professionals to spend more time researching the journalist’s publication/beat before reaching out to them (57.2%). Sharing their articles via social platforms followed at 39.5%.

What PR Professionals Could Do To Support Your Role Better? (Select all that apply)
Support Material % of Respondents
Do more research on my publication/beat before reaching out 57.2%
Socially share your article out to their audiences 39.5%
Be more responsive 38.6%
Provide more story-related assets 35.3%
Be available to speak upon request 34.9%
Provide company fact sheets 25.6%
Other (please specify) 20.5%
Write better stories1 8.6%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015  

Quality Content Check Box Marked By Green PencilGlobally, the top concern for today’s media outlets is the increased focus on inbound traffic vs. story quality. With this move, it becomes even more vital for today’s communicators to create and implement a coverage amplification program to help reporters meet these metrics.

Biggest Concerns Relating To Today’s Media Environment? (Select All That Apply)
Focus % of Respondents
Quality content 66.5%
Increased reliance on “robot” journalism 47.0%
Increased presence of advertorials 44.7%
Reduction in reporting staffing 43.3%
Reduced time available for research 36.3%
Outsourcing of work previously handled by reporters & editors 33.5%
Publication shuttng down 32.1%
Increased usage of company branded content 31.2%
Increased speed in story publishing 29.3%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015

Curved Wall of Video ScreensThe use of video technology in the future of news reporting is highlighted even by the media’s response to what future reporting tools they plan to use to supplement coverage. 50.7% noted livestreaming video apps and 51.6% plan to rely on photo services for multimedia creation or discovery, says the report.

While these results show that journalists continue to embrace established forms of news story telling, there is a dominant shift occurring towards newer methods found primarily on digital platforms.

Modern news consumers are diverse in their choice of where to engage with news, and in their choice of formats – visuals, textual, videos, interactive platforms – so creating content that resonates with audiences across multiple platforms is the best practice for maximizing message visibility. 36.7% of respondents noted they are currently learning new multimedia technologies emerging in the news coverage space, with 23.3% already using interactive photos and video to supplement their stories.

In a surprising twist, says the report, across the globe responders chose BuzzFeed, known for short, entertainment-styled content and news, over more traditional long-form media outlets such as The New York Times as the publication that best represented the future of reporting.

Media Outlet Best Representing The Perceived Future Of Media
Media Outlet % of Respondents
CNN TV + web crossover 10.2%
New York Times: traditonal top tier news sources 27.9%
Buzzfeed: interactive news telling 33.5%
Reddit: consumer driven news telling1 2.6%
Yahoo! News: search engine hosted news 15.8%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015

Wood Block Letters Spell Once Upon A TimeAfter search engine use (97.2%), an organization’s corporate site (88.8%) and online newsroom (76.7%) are the foremost destinations for journalists when they need to research an organization. This “News,” “Media,” or “Press” section of an organization’s website is used regularly for editorial research as are:

  • Social media networks (49.3%),
  • Spokespersons (43.3%)
  • Blogs (38.1%)
  • The press release boilerplate (35.8%)
  • Trade publications (36.3%)
  • And wikipedia (40.9%)

Again this year, press releases (84.7%) remain the most sought-after content type within a company’s online newsroom, with:

  • Breaking news (83.7%) and
    • Media contact information (76.3%) close behind.
  • High resolution images (71.6%)
  • Fact sheets (66%)
  • Press kits (58.6%)
  • Executive biographies (51.6%)…

…round out the top required pieces of content journalists look for when crafting news coverage.

Online NewsroomsMore than 75% of surveyed media are receptive to seeing brand articles within an online newsroom. When asked what type of stories should be found in the online newsroom, 39.1% responded that they’d like to see industry trends, as well as content about products and services (26.5%), events (20.9%) and financial information (20.5%).

The functionality behind an online newsroom is just as important as providing required content types. Journalists expect to be able to search content within an online newsroom by type and or date (60.9%).

The ability to download and re-use content (55.3%) such as video and image files is far more desired by media than simply offering an embeded code (24.2%). And the ability to register for email alerts specific to their news interest is important to 60% of those surveyed.

The report concludes by reminding readers that the purpose of the 2015 Business Wire Media Survey is to provide communicators and media professionals insights into the latest trends in news coverage to provide a roadmap for communicators to create and present better, more effective news packages, allowing not only for the faster processing of quality content, but content that meets reporter metrics as well.

Demographics…

Most Closely Resembles Title
Title % of Respondents
Blogger 6.0%
Other 7.4%
Reporter/writer 13.5%
Editor/editorial staff5 2.1%
Producer 1.9%
On-air talent 1.4%
News director 4.2%
Freelance journalist 11.2%
Correspondent/columnist 2.3%
Years As A Member Of The Media
21 years > 45.1%
16-20 years 18.1%
11-15 years 8.8%
6-10 years 14.4%
2-5 years 13%
1 year 0.5%
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015  

 

Primary Industry Beat  
Beat % of Respondents
Technology 10.2%
Energy/utilities 6.5%
Entertainment 5.6%
Automotive/transportation 4.2%
Finance 3.7%
Sports/recreation 3.3%
Healthcare 2.8%
Food/beverage 2.3%
Retail 2.3%
Agriculture 1.9%
City/metro 1.9%
Real estate 1.9%
Travel/hospitality 1.9%
Architecture 1.4%
Arts/culture 1.4%
Environment 1.4%
Government/politics 1.4%
Science 1.4%
Other (please specify) 27.0%
<1%
Communications
Family/parenting
Fashion
Marketing
Education
Electronics
Health/fitness
Home/garden
Publishing/media
Banking
Law
 Source:Business Wire, October 2015  
   

For additional information, please visit Business Wire here.

 

 

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