IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON NEWS #SMING14 ING has performed an international study into the impact of social media on the activities of PR professionals & journalists and the way social media has influenced the news and the way news is disseminated.
5
5
KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTATIONS
OF THE STUDY
FOR THE FUTURE
Journalists (50%): Social media are the main source of information, despite the low degree of reliability.
Journalists: less fact-checking (44%); crowd-checking (55%) is becoming more important.
The consumer’s opinion is more reliable than a statement issued by an organisation.
Journalists (73%) use more user-generated content, such as videos and tweets.
‘Publish first, correct if necessary’ is the order of the day.
Dutch PR professionals are going to catch up.
Journalists (70%) act differently on social media than in traditional media.
Journalism is more driven by clicks and views.
Dutch PR professionals are lagging behind their US and UK peers.
Contact with the consumer is becoming stronger; directly approaching and engaging with the consumer.
OUTCOME 32% of journalists find posts on social
RELIABILITY
media to be unreliable.
i
It is nevertheless the main source of information for 50% of journalists.
51% of PR professionals believe the reliability of news decreases due to social media because there is less fact-checking.
FACT/CROWD CHECKING
CONTACT PUBLICATION
80% of journalists
52% of PR professionals find
occasionally publish without fact-checking.
that journalists are less often in contact to fact-check since the emergence of social media.
RULES OF JOURNALISM
22% 60%
59%
Neutral
18%
21%
Disagree
Journalists feel they are less bound by rules of journalism on social media than in traditional media.
PR: NL vs. INTERNATIONAL
20%
Agree
Journalists share their personal opinion more openly via social media than via traditional media.
UK
US
UK
US 45%
NL
65%
63%
NL
72%
24%
19%
vs.
PR professionals from the US and UK pay more attention to using social media than PR professionals in NL.
PR professionals from the US and UK are more likely to engage with journalists on a daily basis than PR professionals in NL.
EXTRA FACTS
PR PROFESSIONAL
JOURNALIST
VS
Percentage that agrees with the statement
Social media are important for the performance of daily activities.
PR can no longer operate without social media.
The quality of the reach is higher via social media than via traditional media.
2013
78%
Social media are important for the performance of daily activities.
72%
81%
Journalism can no longer operate without social media.
68%
49%
The quality of the reach is higher via social media than via traditional media.
62%
43%
2014
57% Dutch journalists use social media more actively to pressure organisations to raise issues.
29%
Agree 56%
Neutral Disagree
15%
PR professionals believe that traditional media have become less important due to social media.
Journalists find that their influence has grown due to social media.
64%
Journalists find social media more superficial; traditional media offer more room for content.
Agree
64%
Neutral Disagree
23%
13%
17%
19%
This Social Embassy study was commissioned by ING Netherlands. PR professionals and journalists from around the world participated in the survey by answering questions, commenting on statements and sharing their vision for the future with regard to the role of social media on their industry. 186 PR professionals, spokespeople and corporate communications professionals participated in the study, of which 100 from the Netherlands and 86 from other countries. Another 165 journalists, editors and bloggers took part in the study, of which 66 from the Netherlands and 99 from elsewhere.
For further information contact ING Netherlands, Department of External Communications, +31 (0)20-5764190
[email protected]. Latest news: ing.nl/nieuws or
@INGnl_nieuws