What Little I Know…

A study from Brodeur and Marketwire discusses a reporters view on social media and the results show that journalists are warming up to the idea of social media and its impact, but are still cautious to admit to the high quality of blogs and user interactive news sites.

The report surveyed journalists covering various verticals; politics, health, lifestyle, travel and technology. Journalists were asked about the influence of social media and whether the impact to news coverage was positive or negative. They were also questioned about their usage of social media and whether they visit some of the most popular sites

Some of the results:

• Over half of all reporters said social media and blogs are having a positive influence on the editorial direction of reporting
• Nearly half (47%) of all technology reporters and over one-third (38%) of political reporters said they blogged as part of their reporting
• Reporters were also overwhelmingly positive on the influence of social media and blogs on the diversity of reporting, with approximately 4 in 5 indicating a positive influence
• Social media’s impact on the quality and accuracy of reporting were two areas that journalists overall view less favorably.

Although the quality of social media is still being questioned by the majority of reporters, the results of this survey show that traditional reporters have either included social media and blogging as a part of their day to day or at least see the positive effect this source of media is having on the direction of their editorial content.