Commentary

Journalism And Media Relations

According to 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.

When 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

The 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%)

Today’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

 

Globally, 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

The 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

 After 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.

More 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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