Digital journialism is going mainstream, with media brands around the world carrying a wider range of digital content, supporting more devices, and drawing on digital sources more heavily than before, according to a new report.
The global survey of journalists, conducted by the Oriella PR Network, further finds that the digital boom in the newsroom has heralded a return to traditional journalistic practice: trusted, influential sources command far greater value in 2012 than pre-packaged stories.
The 5th annual Oriella Digital Journalism Study is based on a poll of over 600 journalists from 16 countries spanning Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, and has found the world’s media cautiously upbeat despite continued uncertainty in the global economy.
Over half (54 per cent) expect their title’s audience to grow this year, compared with only 20 per cent anticipating a decline.
The study further finds that publications’ use of online video has almost doubled since last year, with 36 per cent of journalists saying their publications publish videos, compared with 20 per cent in 2011. In addition, 40 per cent say their publications offer journalist-authored blogs and 22 per cent produce infographics in-house.
The growing importance of mobile devices and social media promotion to publishers’ monetisation strategies is reflected in the sustained growth of mobile apps and the continued popularity of publication-owned Twitter and Facebook pages. The proportion of journalists saying their titles now have apps has experienced continued growth over the past three years and now one publication in four has a mobile app. Around half of the respondents said their titles had Facebook pages (52 per cent) and Twitter feeds (46 per cent).
The only key content type to experience year-on-year decline are discussion boards operated by individual publications. The proportion of journalists saying their titles use these has fallen to 26 per cent, down from 37 per cent when the survey began in 2008.
Sources matter in the social newsroom
The study finds that use of social media in newsgathering is now a majority pursuit – but only when the sources behind them are known to journalists. Just over half (53 per cent) of the journalists surveyed use microblog updates (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Weibo) from sources they know. However, when the source is unfamiliar, reliance on microblogs roughly halves.
Use of conventional blogs in newsgathering is slightly lower but follows a similar trend: 44 per cent of respondents said they used blogs that they know to source news stories, but just 22 per cent would use unfamiliar blogs in the same way. This is a reversal of the picture in 2011, when 43 per cent of respondents said they would source news from blogs they did not know, and only 30 per cent said they relied on familiar sources.
The study highlights the growing importance of trusted sources and a decline of more conventional vehicles for message delivery. Reliance on industry insiders for new stories has grown from 54 per cent in 2011 to 64 per cent this year, and interviews with spokespeople have become journalists’ preferred first port of call for stories, replacing press releases, which now rank fifth.
Michael Rundle, Technology Editor, Huffington Post UK, said: “As journalists we can’t afford take what we see on social media at face value. We always take careful steps to establish the authority of any sources we do quote – and, often, these are people with whom we have already built up a relationship offline. However, as broad gauges of the public conversation, social networks are incredibly useful.”
Print versus online ends in a draw?
The study indicates that the growth of online news media at the expense of offline is slowing. In 2011, 50 per cent of respondents maintained their offline print or broadcast outlet had the largest audience. In 2012, 47 per cent held this view. Meanwhile, the proportion of each publication’s online output that is new – a rough measure of the level of investment in digital platforms – has remained largely unchanged since last year: 45 per cent of journalists in 2012 said 60 per cent or more of their online output was new (2011 figure: 46 per cent).
Journalists around the world cautiously upbeat
The proportion of journalists saying they enjoy the job more than a year ago has declined sharply since last year, but still outweighs those who enjoy it less. This year, a third (33 per cent) say they enjoyed the job more, compared with 43 per cent in 2011. A similar proportion – 36 per cent – believe their title’s output has improved over the past year, compared with 20 per cent who think quality has declined, with journalists in Asia particularly positive about the impact of digital media on their work.
Giles Fraser, Co-Founder of Brands2Life and the Oriella PR Network said: “Our fifth annual study shows an even higher premium attached to the influence and credibility of sources, especially through social media, compared to previous years. At the same time, the study has found publications around the world are using an ever wider range of digital assets, such as video, infographics and apps, to convey storylines. The more brands are able to reflect and support the changing requirements of the media, the better placed they will be to win in their chosen markets.”
Methodology
The Oriella Digital Journalism Study was first conducted in 2008 and tracks the adoption of social and digital technologies in the media sector. This year’s study was compiled in April and May 2012 using an online survey of 613 journalists in 16 countries from broadcast, national, lifestyle, regional and trade media and blogs in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Vietnam, United Kingdom and the United States. On average 38 journalists were surveyed in each country.
Source: www.oriellaprnetwork.com