EMERYVILLE, Calif. – Public relations practitioners who want insights regarding journalists’ use of online newsrooms, blogs, RSS and social media now have research to guide their media relations practices. A new study conducted by Bulldog Reporter and TEKgroup International, Inc., indicates that journalists’ usage of these technologies is more extensive than believed by PR professionals.

The findings, released at the PRSA International Conference, reveal that the greatest change in journalism practices due to new Internet technology is the ability to access corporate news and contact information online 24 hours a day. Nearly half of all journalists report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a week, while more than 85% visit at least once a month.

Blogs, social media and RSS

While almost a third of journalists do not cover blogs, more than a quarter report regularly reading five or more blogs to research desired topics, and nearly 70% follow at least one blog regularly. 

More than a quarter (28%) of journalists visit a social media or networking site, such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace, at least once a week, while more than 44% visit at least once a month.

Nearly 16% of journalists receive five or more RSS feeds of news services, blogs, podcasts or videocasts every week, and about 37% receive at least one regular RSS feed.

Audio or video material

While more than half of journalists never seek audio or video material from corporate websites, nearly 20% say they seek such material at least once a month.

Primary source of news
While a large majority (76.9%) of journalists report that they use local newspapers to follow news, some 64% report that they use Google or Yahoo! online news services.

The survey results, conducted October 4-10, reflect practices of 2,046 respondents, of which approximately 47% were editors or editorial staff and 35% were reporters or writers. The survey’s objective was to establish benchmarks for how journalists use the Internet to conduct research. The full study can be found at http://www.tekgroup.com/marketing/mediarelationspractices_bulldog/.

About Bulldog Reporter – www.bulldogreporter.com
Bulldog Reporter is a B2B publishing company that serves PR professionals by providing an inside view into the workings of journalists and top media organizations. Bulldog Reporter offers a repository of insight into media relations “best practices”—techniques and technologies. The Bulldog Reporter product and service lines are owned by Infocom Group.

About TEKgroup International, Inc. - www.tekgroup.com
TEKgroup International, Inc., an award-winning Internet software and services company, develops E-business solutions for the public relations industry. TEKgroup clients include Delta Air Lines, Inc., Audi, Volkswagen, Detroit Lions, Ford Motor Company, VMS, Best Buy, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Walgreens and the Public Relations Society of America.