More than 540 media professionals from print, online, radio and TV took part in the survey. These are the results of the online survey in Switzerland.
Almost half use smartphone or tablet for research every day
41 percent of the journalists surveyed do research every day on their
smartphone or tablet for information. Another 23 percent do this at least once a week. Multimedia journalists are particularly active with their mobile devices. 58 percent of video editors, 47 percent of audio editors 45 percent of online editors search for information for their editorial work on a mobile device every day. Just under one-fifth of the journalists surveyed never use smartphones or tablets for research.
The difference between older and younger journalists is very surprising: While almost one in two of the 41- to 50-year-old editors does mobile research every day (48 percent), only a good third (35 percent) of the 21- to 30-year-old editors do so.
Journalists want media releases that contain images
Visual material is more in demand than ever in editorial departments. Since the daily work of many journalists is characterized by tight time management, photos assume outstanding importance across all genres in conveying information. 78 percent of editors consider it important or very important that media reports contain images in addition to text. The rate of use of PR images in editorial departments is correspondingly high: around half of the editors surveyed (49 percent) use original photos of companies and organizations on a daily or at least weekly basis.
Video live streaming gains strong importance
Live streaming of media conferences or corporate events has become noticeably more important for journalists in the last two years. Almost a third (29 percent) of editors now consider this format important or very important.
What research sources do journalists use?
As expected, search engines are at the top of the list of research sources. 94 percent of editors use Google & Co for research. Company websites and press portals also play an important role in online research. Four out of five editors (78 percent) use company websites, and just over half of the editors surveyed (53 percent) use press portals. Social networks are also regularly used for research. The most frequently used social network for research is Facebook. More than a third of the editors surveyed look there for relevant news (39 percent). It is followed by Twitter (37 percent), YouTube (33 percent) and Google+ (24 percent). RSS feeds, on the other hand, are of little importance to editors. Only around one in ten media producers (12 percent) uses this technology.