What annoys Swiss journalists about company spokespeople

For the majority of media makers, the issue of credibility is currently the biggest challenge. Just under half of the respondents are concerned that people no longer trust the media (49 percent). In second place comes the issue of independence. 38 percent of journalists believe that deliberate influence by third parties undermines the sovereignty of the media. How media deal with the digital transformation and with which digital business models they can earn money in the future are among the biggest challenges for almost one in three journalists (29 percent).Social media is used activelySocial networks are now established tools that play an important role in everyday editorial work. Most often, the social web is used to monitor other media or people or events (61 percent). Social media is used almost as often for research purposes (58 percent). More than half of those surveyed say they use the new media to publish or announce articles (54 percent). However, social media are used less for dialog with different target groups. Only one in four respondents uses social networks for this purpose (26 percent).Dishonesty and lack of authenticity irk journalistsThe survey also focuses on the relationship between journalists and company spokespeople. More than half of the media professionals surveyed are most annoyed when communications directors are dishonest and inauthentic (49 percent). The second most annoying factor is the whitewashing of media spokespeople. Praising instead of putting facts on the table: That bothers 46 percent of journalists. They find complicated authorizations just as annoying. Worryingly, almost a quarter of respondents criticize poorly crafted PR material. For example, 24 percent of respondents say that unprofessional media material bothers them a lot. The more experienced the editor, the more critical the view of the PR content. While only nine percent of young professionals (1-5 years of professional experience) criticize bad media releases, the figure for journalists with 11-15 years of professional experience is 38 percent.Other results:- 56 percent of journalists say that the public's trust in the media has declined in the last twelve months.- Taking over the content of companies and PR agencies without checking it is the biggest mistake journalists can make today. That's according to 51 percent.- Even in the age of smartphones and social media, journalists still believe that the direct conversation is the most important information tool that companies must offer. This view is shared by 67 percent.- The most important goal on the social web is to increase user and reader loyalty. 64 percent say so.- The group of people most closely observed by journalists on the social web are other journalists. 62 percent said that.About the survey501 journalists took part in the media trend monitor "Focus on Journalism - What Moves Swiss Journalists Today". The survey took place in March 2017. The initiators news aktuell and Faktenkontor chose an online survey as the method. All figures are rounded to full numbers.Complete survey results: https://www.newsaktuell.ch/medien-trendmonitor-2017