CommPRO

View Original

Reporter Survey Reveals New Trends to Generate Earned Media

Paul Kontonis

CommPRO Editorial Staff

A recent survey of journalists conducted by  Reportable, Inc.  reveals  how news releases today are discovered by reporters, and how their form and function can be tailored to reporters’ needs. Understanding this phenomenon can help communications professionals get their organizations and clients noticed and generate more earned media, one of the most proven ways to manage brand and corporate reputation and awareness.  The results were reported from the PRSA 2017 International Conference. "Reporters, like their readers, demand and see value in the most interactive experience possible," explained   Richard   Laermer, Co-founder of Reportable, Inc. and author of  Full Frontal PR. "To get your release noticed, targeted email is by far the most effective, with social media now surpassing the newswire as a source of discovering news release headlines."Journalists responded to questions ranging from how they discover news headlines (newswires, email, social media, keyword alerts, and more); their need/use of photos and videos; and features they want to see in news releases.The Reportable survey discovered that when it comes to discovering news headlines:
  • Direct email remains by far the #1 source of discovering headlines (74%)
  • 53% of reporters discovered headlines via social media compared with 49% through a newswire

When asked about essential features of a news release, functions that increased user-friendliness and interactivity were most preferred. The results found:

  • A summary of news was the most-requested feature among reporters (92%)
  • The option to download images to be used in a story was important to 66.7% of reporters
  • An ability to schedule an interview via the release was important to more than 60% of respondents
  • Fewer than 20% wished to receive information about so-called "headline news" via telephone

To access the full survey, select the following link - Get Full ReportAbout the Survey158 journalists responded. Responses were collected between September 27 and October 4, 2017. Respondents represented a wide swath of trade publications, daily papers, weekly and monthly magazines, and major online and broadcast outlets including Boston Globe, CBS, CFO magazine, CNN, Crain's Business, Fast Company, Forbes, HuffPost, MarketWatch, Medscape Medical News, Medtech Insight, Men's Journal, The New York Times, Prevention Magazine, Readers Digest, Reuters, Runner's World, STAT News, Today On NBC, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and WebMD.