Journalists in their own words: New Media usage

We recently asked journalists, “What impact has New Media had on your work?” Here’s what they told us…

Many journalists told us that new media has enabled them to do their research quicker and more efficiently, giving them access to more material to work from. In addition, they are using new media outlets to publish traditional and multi-media features:

New Media has allowed for me to do my job easier, faster, and more efficiently. As everything continues to shift toward digital it is allowing for me to do my job better.

The advent of New Media has allowed our organization to do deeper background research, and the inclusion of multimedia content on our website and in our e-newsletters has allowed us to provide our readership with a more in-depth look at stories than we were able to in the past with print or static web content alone.

It has changed how I view a story and how best to tell that story. Even though the staff is still getting use to putting a story on the web first and then updating throughout the day our newsroom culture is moving more toward a web-based mindset than print.

Not sure what you mean by “New Media.” If you mean the Internet generally, then it has been a blessing for me as a business news reporter. Before the Internet, we had to wait for snail mail, often for days, to get important information for business news stories. Now we can grab much of it immediately online, especially in the case of public companies that are required to file documents with the SEC.

It has increased the amount of resource material substantially

It has made my work easier and more informed.

It’s made it much easier to keep up on the topics I write about and find information and sources. Also it’s easier to connect with editors at different media outlets.

Clearly, new media has made things easier and more streamlined. I still prefer email over social media to receive press materials because it is the most straightforward channel, and all I have to do is hit the “reply” button if/when I’m interested in the content to directly reach the appropriate contact

New media has helped me get the news to our readers/users earlier and more often

Easier to do research

It has changed everything

Made it a lot easier. Don’t have tons of press releases and press kit folders lying around. Am able to file electronically in appropriate issue folders

It has made finding information much much easier.

More access to more information, but also more need to filter that information (to provide relevant content to our readers).

I’ve been able to do some very topical interviews

I work at a small town weekly newspaper, and sadly, our Web site has the bare minimum. If I worked for a larger town or paper, New Media would have a huge impact on my work. I’ve always wanted to incorporate more at my current job, but we’ll see.

it has added responsbilities… and created a wider audience

good: speed, breadth bad: makes it too easy to stay inside the building, which always hurts a story

Simplifies research and makes information available faster

In my field, if I learn of something first in a press release, I’m not doing my job very well. It automatically becomes a second-tier story, because essentially everyone already has it. But I often use search engines and the Web to obtain background info for just about any article.

Adds a social dimension and identifies who their target audience is that is interested in the topic

Makes better (quicker) use of time.

Made it much easier to document references and data

Much easier to get video/audio and to use video/audio. Use social networks to find information more quickly

Easy to get content

It makes information much quicker and easier to access at my convenience

Some in the media credit, or blame, new media for increased publication demands and shorter turn-around times. Some suggest that new media has complicated their jobs, inundating them with too much information even, in the words of one respondent, slowly putting them “out of business” :

I used to deliver 1-3 features on each resort that I visited to the magazines and inflights. Now I can contribute to several other outlets online. More ink.

I find I often have to go through several search results when using online search engines before finding ALL of the relevant information

It has increased our workload considerably, but it has also given us many more ways to collect and distribute information. It’s exciting, but at times overwhelming.

Made it easier, especially to identify cultural trends. But also harder, because often overwhelmed with quantity of emails and info

Everything is coming faster and faster. I can barely keep up

I write primarily for print publications–I guess it’s putting me slowly out of business.

It provides an inundating amount of information. Takes so much more time to filter throught. However, email makes it easier to copy and paste copy

We were doing more with the Web, but then our newspaper and several others merged and we’re not trying to find out what the parameters are. Many of us in the merger moved from a company providing Web content for free to a new organization that puts things behind a pay wall. We’re uncertain of what we can and can’t do, so using or receiving content in new media form isn’t at the forefront of our thoughts right now. Sorry for that, but it’s just being honest.

Sometimes more information is too much information

Actually more frenzied because there so much more info available

Other than the fact that it’s nearly destroyed sources of credible journalism and made the detestable term “citizen journalist” acceptable??? It’s fine as a tool for real, qualified journalists

Seriously, none directly. Indirectly, it’s often pulled from those sources by other people and e-mailed to us.

Social sites such as Twitter and Facebook were credited with helping journalists find sources more easily: Find sources through Twitter and Facebook

I am able to find more sources via social media.

You can often send out a request for sources or information via social media very quickly and get immediate responses. It’s a fantastic time saver

We currently use twitter and facebook and text alerts for breaking news

First, I’ve received one or two tips first from Twitter or Facebook, Second, my own work is more widely read after I paste links to Twitter and Face Book.

Although some admitted they don’t use social media at all or simply don’t see the value in social media tools:

Quite honestly, we do not use the new information such as Twitter or FaceBook

E-mail and online press rooms have had the biggest impact. Have yet to see the relevance/accuracy of blogs and social media to dispensing hard news and information; too much opinion.

Email delivery if releases and images is by far the most important factor–Social Media is not reliable and much of it is irrelevant

Mostly it allows me to promote things we cover in the mag…not yet many story ideas that come to fruition over FB.

Several respondents simply noted the impact new tools have had on their daily lives (or not, in some cases):

Are you kidding, I typed all stories in 1986! I’m not old school, so this is all I know.

Tagsjournalist, journalist survey, new media, New Media Release, PR, Public Relations