Half of journalists now say they need social media to do their jobs, up from 28% in 2012, finds an international survey of journalists.
Cision’s 2015 Global Social Journalism Study, conducted in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University, surveyed more than 3,000 journalists from 11 countries; 7% of that sample came from Canada.
The survey found that two-thirds of journalists log in and use social media daily, and that 35% of journalists are either expert users who use a variety of social media tools or keen content creators on social media.
It also found 27% of journalists use social media for two hours or more in their daily work. As well, 57% say social media has increased their productivity and 51% would be unable to do their jobs without it.
But while social media may be more acceptable to journalists, many don’t feel great about it. The majority of journalists have serious security and privacy concerns and many believe social media is undermining the value of their profession.
Other key findings of the survey:
• 83% of journalists choose email as their preferred method of contact or of receiving pitches
• 23% accept pitches over social media, a five point increase since 2013
• 37% take pitches over the telephone, an 11 point drop from 2013
Cision, a media intelligence company, conducts the survey annually to deepen the PR and communication fields’ understanding of how journalists and professional communicators use and value social media and other resources.
The statistical analysis was based on a 95% confidence interval.
