I read an interesting article today on a 2014 Study impact of Social Media on News. Now the news does come from Netherlands-based banks ING so how representative of the thoughts of the UK’s journalists it is can be questioned, but it reveals some interesting findings nonetheless, and it is also accompanied by a great infographic (and you know how we love a good infographic here at Skout HQ). The study reveals that:
-One-third of journalists said social media posts are not a reliable source of information. However, half of journalists still use it as a principal source of information.
-Journalists (60%) are less bound by journalistic rules on social media than with traditional media
-Journalists expect journalism to be driven by clicks and views more than by content.
-68% of journalists use social media to find out what people are talking about.
-81% of PR professionals believe that PR can no longer operate without social media.
-Only 20% of journalists always check the facts prior to publishing.
Less than 400 journalists and public relations practitioners were surveyed for this study so it’s perhaps not the most robust survey that has ever been commissioned but as a B2B PR agency it does give us a sneaky glimpse into the way journalists work today. And as for the statistic that only 20% of journalists check their facts, was it a journalist or a PR that said ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story’?
