Survey Points to What Journalists Love and Hate About Digital Newsrooms
by Shannon Kramer
Reporters and editors are not getting what they need from the digital newsrooms of corporations and communications professionals. Survey sponsor ISEBOX, a Cloud digital Media Center solution supporting marketing and communications professionals, said only 6 percent of journalists polled faulted digital newsrooms for a lack of access to useful contact information or multimedia content.
Ninety-five percent of reporters are accessing company websites at least monthly, with 41 percent visiting newsrooms daily. Yet over 65 percent of journalists said the majority of Public Relations online resources are inadequate. Eight of 10 journalists said they would more actively seek out a company’s newsroom if it met their needs.
Poor contact information (69 percent) and lack of multimedia content (65 percent) are the biggest failings cited by journalists, along with poor search tools (54 percent) and lack of current information (53 percent).
"Reporters want a streamlined digital newsroom experience with easy downloads of photos and videos. The brands that meet their needs are going to gain a competitive advantage," said Matt Purdue, Director of Content Strategy at PepperComm
Journalists ranked these features as most important: having accurate contact information (90 percent), access to photos and video content (76 percent), current news and information (71 percent), easy search tools to find content (55 percent).
69 percent of journalists never subscribe to company emails, yet 50 percent stated that it was important to be able to subscribe.
Journalists listed other irritants such as lack of media kits, difficulty setting up interviews, weak search features, non-existent press archives and poorly written press releases as barriers to coverage.
Greg Walton, reporter for Agence France-Presse (AFP) added, "The research gets to the heart of the frustrations faced by journalists on deadline. Not having an easy to find phone number is unforgivable in the 21st Century."
Marc de Leuw, CEO ISEBOX commented: “We see too many cases where Media Centers prioritise brand image over journalists’ needs. So while most digital newsrooms look great – far too many lack the functionality and content to do a good job. Earned Media is the Holy Grail of Comms, so we’ve really tried listening to what journalists want.”
While 70 percent of journalists stated that most newsrooms do not meet their needs, it was encouraging to see that 80 percent of journalists would seek out company Media Centers if they were improved.
Content: For video, infographic and content for this story please visit: http://news.isebox.net/2016-journalist-survey
