SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2014 Business Wire Media Survey released today shows nearly 90% of
responding journalists used a press release within the last week and
that almost 80% turn to a company’s online newsroom when researching an
organization.
These and other findings were collected from more than 300 North
American journalists belonging to a wide range of news organizations.
The online survey was conducted by Business Wire between March and May.
The survey shows that journalists have specific content needs, turn to
trusted sources for corporate news and use specific metrics to evaluate
their stories, all providing public relations professionals with a
roadmap to more effectively developing, distributing and sharing content.
More than 50% of journalists said the number of page views was a chief
measurement metric for their own stories, with 42% saying social media
activity and 24% counting the number of comments.
Showing the enduring value of press releases, 89% of journalists
surveyed used a press release within the last week. Nearly 75% of
surveyed journalists preferred graphics or infographics to be added to
press releases and more than 70% also wanted photographs.
“The 2014 Business Wire media survey was designed to better understand
how journalists cover companies and organizations in today’s digital and
social world. With knowledge acquired from the survey results,
professional communicators can identify the latest preferred content
sources and online newsroom needs, and then act to produce and provide
content that will enhance their media relations programs,” said Ibrey
Woodall, Business Wire’s vice president of web communications
services.
Reporters turn to newswires regularly, with more than 70% identifying
Business Wire and 66% identifying PR Newswire. No other service was
cited by more than 25% of journalists. Conversely, reporters
overwhelmingly don’t want to be pitched on social media, with negative
responses to pitches hitting 90% for Facebook, 88% for Google+, 83% for
Twitter and 75% for LinkedIn.
Online Newsrooms
While many research tools are available to today’s journalists,
according to these survey results, more than 90% of reporters use an
organization’s main or corporate website as their top source, with
nearly 80% using the organization’s online newsroom ahead of social
media networks, blogs, trade publications and other sources.
Because the online newsroom is a top journalist destination, a series of
questions regarding online newsroom content, access, complexity and
functionality were presented in the survey.
While press releases are the preferred content type by nearly 90% of
reporters surveyed, fewer than one in 10 want press releases to appear
in only PDF format, with more than half preferring the HTML/text format
option.
Reporters want access to archival content in online newsrooms, with the
majority wanting the ability to search at least one to five years of
historical press releases. They also want brand-published content, with
more than 60% of surveyed journalists receptive to brand-published
content within the online newsroom.
Download the Business Wire 2014 Media survey here:
http://go.businesswire.com/business-wire-media-survey-results
Click here to share the survey results via Twitter: http://bit.ly/BWMediaSurvey
About Business Wire
Business Wire, a Berkshire
Hathaway company, is the global leader in press
release distribution and regulatory
disclosure. Investor relations, public relations, public policy and
marketing professionals rely on Business Wire to accurately distribute
market-moving news and multimedia, host online
newsrooms and IR
websites, build content
marketing platforms, generate social engagements and provide
audience analysis that improves interaction with specified target
markets. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news
organizations, journalists, investment professionals and regulatory
authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading
online news sources via its multi-patented simultaneous NX Network.
Business Wire has 32 offices worldwide to securely meet the varying
needs of communications professionals and news consumers.
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