Social Media Impact On News #SMING15

#SMING15SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT

A GLOBAL STUDY INTO THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE ACTIVITIES OF PR PROFESSIONALS & JOURNALISTS, NEWS & NEWS DISSEMINATION

ABOUT THIS STUDY

INTRODUCTION

2

CHAPTER

ABOUT THIS STUDY KEY TERMSWHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?

ING aims to be more than just another financial institution, and

wants to be a frontrunner in the field of understanding social

media. Not only to use it to optimize their own social media

strategy, but also to share the knowledge with interested 3rd

parties.

In previous years, ING conducted this research with a strong

focus on the Dutch market, interviewing 2 distinct groups of

media professionals; journalists and PR professionals. This

generated a lot of insights in the behavior, attitudes and ex-

pectations towards social media of these groups.

This year, ING and DVJ Insights expanded the scope of this

research to a more global scale, interviewing media profes-

sionals in The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and

the United States.

This report provides the results of the #SMING15.

Journalists:

The ‘Journalists’ group comprises journalists, edi-

tors and bloggers/experts who write about a specific

subject. Where the term journalists is used, it refers

to both Dutch and international respondents, unless

stated otherwise.

PR Professionals:

The ‘PR professionals’ group comprises PR profes-

sionals, spokespeople and corporate communication

professionals. Where the term PR Professionals is

used, it refers to both Dutch and international re-

spondents, unless stated otherwise.

Media Professionals:

Both Journalists and PR Professionals.

Fact & Crowd Checking:

Fact-checking is defined as the checking of facts,

for example by applying the principle of hearing

both sides of the argument. Crowd-checking means

using public opinion to establish whether or not

something is true..

This report provides an insight into the following:

1. Insights 2015

The most important observations of the Global #SMING15 study

2. Trends

Developments in the Dutch Social Media Landscape

3. Summary by Country

The Netherlands - USA - UK - Germany

Appendix

1. Platform Usage

Which platforms are used the most?

2. Social Media Journey

A more granular look into platform usage

3. Trends

To what extend do media professionals recognize

and apply social media trends?

4. Views on social media

What’s the attitude towards social media?

5. Expectations

Which developments do media professionals expect?

6. Relationship between Journalists & PR Professionals

7. One Pagers 2014 - 2015

Focus the Netherlands

Understanding trends in social media since 2012

2

I expect that fact checking will be done less and less

I expect that crowd checking will become more important

+ 27%

2015

2014 37%

63%

+ 22%

2015

2014 43%

65%

Dutch journalists expect thatthe balance of fact- and crowd

checking will change dramatically.This is in line with the increased

importance and perceived reliabilityof social media amongst

Dutch journalists.

BALANCE



+ 27%

2015

2014 37%

63%

+ 22%

2015

2014 43%

65%




Dutch journalists.

BALANCE

1. GLOBAL INSIGHTS 2015THE MOST IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS OF THE #SMING15 GLOBAL STUDY

4

Average amount of time spent at social media each day

2,1 hours

1,5 hours

1,1 hours

1,3 hours

1,7 hours1,3 hours

JournalistsPR professionals

Social media are used for 1,5 hours a dayby journalists and PR professionals

INSIGHT

1JOURNALISTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR 1,7 HOURS A DAY WHEREAS PR PROFESSIONALS ARE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR 1,3 HOURS EACH DAY. THIS DIFFERS BY COUNTRY HOWEVER.

5

Which of thefollowing socialmedia platformsdo you use?

86%88%

60%

67%

49%

38%34%

43%

Facebook still reigns supreme as the most used social media platform

INSIGHT

2FACEBOOK REMAINS THE MOST USED PLATFORM FOR JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS. THIS IS TRUE FOR BOTH PROFESSION GROUPS IN ALL COUNTRIES.

6

Google+ only registers top 4 usageamongst PR professionals in Germany

Twitter is as important as Facebookfor journalists in the UK

LinkedIn is very popular amongstDutch PR professionals

The US is the only countrywhere Instagram is used by

journalists and PR professionals

However, there are local nuancesin platform usage as well

INSIGHT

3TWITTER IS ON PAR WITH FACEBOOK AMONGST JOURNALISTS IN THE UK, INSTAGRAM IS ONLY USED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE US, WHILE LINKEDIN IS VERY POPULAR AMONGST DUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS.

7

Can you indicate wich of the social media platforms you use in each of the stages?

All countries and profession groups combined

Verifyinginformation

Readingreports/blogsfrom peoplethat I follow

Monitoringnews

Respondingin a dialogue

Respondingto reports orcomments

Dissiminatingnews

Announcingnews

Initiating andmaintainingrelationships

Again, Facebook is the most used platform in all publication phases

INSIGHT

4TWITTER IS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM,EXCEPT FOR THE RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PHASE WHERE LINKEDIN IS USED MORE THAN TWITTER.

8

I am an expertwhen it comesto using and/ordeploying social mediaprofessionally

49%

50%

46%

63%

56%

70%

58%

83%

PR professionals see themselves more as social media experts than journalists

INSIGHT

5THE DIFFERENCES IN CLAIMED EXPERTISE ARE LIMITED AMONGST JOURNALISTS IN THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. AMONGST PR PROFESSIONALS, THERE IS A 33% GAP BETWEEN DUTCH AND US PR PROFESSIONALS.

9

46%

32%

61%56%

40%

In my daily jobI see that..social media area reliable sourceof information

Global Average2014

Journalists embrace social media as a reliable source of information

INSIGHT

6GERMAN JOURNALISTS STILL FEEL THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN UNRELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION, WHILE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE MORE AND MORE CONVINCED OF THE OPPOSITE.

10

39%

55%60%

80%

53%

In my daily jobI see that..social media area reliable sourceof information

Global Average2014

PR professionals consider social media as reliable as well

INSIGHT

7HOWEVER, THERE ARE BIG DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COUNTRIES. DUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS ARE ESPECIALLY SKEPTICAL TOWARDS SOCIAL MEDIA RELIABILITY, WHILE US PROFESSIONALS ARE THE OPPOSITE.

11

Social media are a reliable source of information

Social media have become the mostimportant source of information

39%

54%

Dutch PR professionals seem to be in a social media transition phase

INSIGHT

8DUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS STILL FEEL SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION, BUT ARE INCREASINGLY AGREE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS THEIR MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFORMATION.

12

In my daily jobis see that...social media have anincreasing influenceon the news

90%

81%

71%

76%

A vast majority agrees social mediahave a strong impact on the news

INSIGHT

9IN THE US 90% OF THE PROFESSIONALS AGREE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE AN INCREASING INFLUENCE ON THE NEWS. EVEN IN GERMANY - THE MOST SOCIAL MEDIA RELUCTANT COUNTRY - 71% AGREES.

13

It is more importantto get the news outfirst than to checkall the facts first

48%

43%

30%

44%

51%

57%

34%

73%

US journalists are surprisingly conservative about publishing

INSIGHT

10IN THE US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROFESSION GROUPS IS ALSO STRIKING, BUT WE DO SEE A GENERAL TENDENCY THAT PR PROFESSIONALS APPLY THIS TREND MORE THAN JOURNALISTS.

14

63%

2014:49%

44%

66%70%

In my daily job I see that..traditional media havebecome less importantas a result of social media

These changes lead to a strong decreasein the use of traditional media

INSIGHT

11A VAST MAJORITY OF THE MEDIA PROFESSIONALS AGREES THAT TRADITIONAL MEDIA ARE BECOMINGLESS IMPORTANT DUE TO SOCIAL MEDIA.

15

Changes in profession are about social media & new technologies

INSIGHT

12SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE APPLICATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ARE PERCEIVED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES. GERMANY DIFFERS FROM THE OTHER COUNTRIES: SOCIAL MEDIA IS LESS PROMINENT.

QUESTION:

If you think about the changes in your profession in the past year,

what comes to mind?

16

How would you classify your associations related to the changes in your profession?

63%

25%

12%

53%

33%

15%

56%

29%

15%

65%

22%

12%

These associations are predominantlypositive in all countries

INSIGHT

13US AND UK MEDIA PROFESSIONALS ARE SLIGHTLY MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THE PERCEIVED CHANGESIN THEIR PROFESSION THAN DUTCH AND GERMAN MEDIA PROFESSIONALS.

17

..user-generated content (such as photos and tweets)will be used increasingly often as input for the news

..real-time journalism will play animportant role in journalism

..the role of social media within journalism, PR, beinga spokesperson and crisis management will

increase over the year ahead

..crowd checking will play an increasinglylarger role in journalism

..fact checking will be done increasingly less

68%

71%

56%

60%

77%

75%

77%

77%

74%

76%

I expect that..

It is expected user generated content will further grow in importance

INSIGHT

14REAL-TIME JOURNALISM WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN JOURNALISM, WHILE MORE THAN HALF OF THE PROFESSIONALS EXPECTS FACT CHECKING WILL BE DONE INCREASINGLY LESS.

18

Writes a personal and/orwork-related blog

71%

51%

65%

51%

80%

61%

77%

80%

Blogging is hot -Especially amongst journalists

INSIGHT

1580% OF THE UK AND USA JOURNALISTS WRITES A BLOG. LESS PR PROFESSIONALS WRITE A BLOG, EXCEPT IN THE US, ALSO ALMOST 80% WRITES ONE. WE EXPECT BLOGGING TO KEEP GROWING!

19

Crowd checking will play an increasingly larger role in journalism

78%

72%

61%

67%

I make use of crowd checking to check wheter something is true

EX

PEC

TATI

ON

STR

EN

D

72%

60%

62%

53%

And crowd checking will continue to growINSIGHT

16EVEN THOUGH CROWD CHECKING IS USED A LOT ALREADY, IT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE EVEN MORE IN THE FUTURE.IT IS NOW MOSTLY APPLIED IN THE US AND THE LEAST IN THE NETHERLANDS.

20

My relationship withjournalists / PR professionals

is very good

Journalists / PR professionals have becomemore independent of journalists / PR professionals

through social media

91%75%

81%62%

64%47%

63%53%

74%61%

58%57%

57%48%

47%47%

PR professionals are more positive about journalists than vice versa

INSIGHT

17DESPITE THE GOOD RELATION OF JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS, THEY DO FEEL THAT THE OTHER PROFESSION GROUP HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY INDEPENDENT BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

21

I make increasingly less contactwith organizations to check facts

I see that journalists make contact lessoften with an organization to check their facts

29%

42% 42% 58%

69%

54%50%

27%

Journalists still contact PR professionals, or do they?

INSIGHT

18EVEN THOUGH JOURNALISTS CLAIM THAT THEY AREN’T CONTACTING ORGANIZATIONS LESS, PR PROFESSIONALS NOTICED THE OPPOSITE.

22

46%

55% E-mail

21%

28%

17%

11% Social media

9%

9%

16%

15% Phone

33%

26%

12%

15% Face-to-face

27%

30%

7%

4% Messaging

9%

7%

Most common way of beingcontacted by PR professionals

Preferred way of contactingfor journalists

Most common way of beingcontacted by journalists

Preferred way of contactingfor PR professionals

PR professionals still value personal contact. Journalists do not.

INSIGHT

19IN GENERAL, THE MOST USED WAY OF CONTACTING AND THE PREFERRED WAY OF CONTACTING ARE ALIGNED FOR BOTH PROFESSION GROUPS.

2. TRENDSDEVELOPMENTS IN THE DUTCH SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE SINCE 2014

24

1QUESTION: SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION

Reliability of social mediaTREND

Dutch journalists perceive social media more and more as a reliable

source of information

Dutch journalists

Dutch PR Professionals

Dutch PR Professionals remain sceptical about the reliability of

social media as a source of information

35%

43%

46%+ 11%

- 4%

20152014

20152014

39%

25

2QUESTION (JOURNALIST): SOCIAL MEDIA IS MY MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFORMATIONQUESTION (PR PROFESSIONALS): I CAN’T CARRY OUT MY DAILY JOB WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA

Importance of social mediaTREND

Dutch journalists increasingly feel that social media are their most important source of information

Dutch journalists


Despite the low reliability, Dutch PR Professionals feel that they

wouldn’t be able to carry out their job without social media

54%

50%

60%+ 6%

+ 9%

20152014

20152014

59%

26

3QUESTION: TRADITIONAL MEDIA CHANNELS ARE BECOMING LESS IMPORTANT DUE TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Traditional media channelsTREND

The increase in importance of social media leads to a decrease in the use of traditional channels

Dutch journalists


The increase in importance of social media leads to a decrease in the use of traditional channels

49%

49%

62%+ 13%

+ 14%

20152014

20152014

63%

27

4Fact vs. crowd checking (journalists)

TREND

QUESTION: I EXPECT THAT FACT CHECKING WILL BE DONE LESS AND LESSQUESTION: I EXPECT THAT CROWD CHECKING WILL BECOME MORE IMPORTANT



+ 27%

2015

2014 37%

63%

+ 22%

2015

2014 43%

65%




Dutch journalists.

BALANCE

28

5QUESTION: MY INFLUENCE AS A JOURNALIST HAS STRONGLY INCREASED BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Increased influence (journalists)TREND

My influence as a journalist has strongly increased because of social media

- 2%

2015

2014 65%

63%

A majority of the Dutch journalistsstill feels that social media has

given them more influence(no change since 2014).

29

6Role of social media in PR

TREND

QUESTION: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA WITHIN THE FIELD OF PR WILL FURTHER INCREASE IN THE FUTURE

The role of social media within the field of PR (including spokepersons,crisis management and journalism) will further increase in the future

- 12%

2015

2014 84%

72%

Although a dercrease since 2014,72% of the Dutch PR professionals

still think that the role of social mediain their field will increase in the

future. As the reliability is low thereseems to be no relation between

importance and reliability.

30

7Contact with journalists

TREND

QUESTION: I NOTICE THAT, SINCE THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, JOURNALISTS CONTACT ME LESS TO CHECK FACTS ABOUT MY ORGANIZATION.

I notice that, since the rise of social media,journalists contact me less to check facts about my organization

+ 7%

2015

2014 43%

50%

Despite the good relationship(63% is positive about this)

with journalists, half of the DutchPR professionals do notice that

journalists contact them less. Anincrease of 7% since last year.

3. SUMMARY BY COUNTRYTHE NETHERLANDS • USA • UK • GERMANY

32

Dutch media professionals are not always that positive about

the changes in their profession: 30% is negative and these

changes are perceived as impactful. Negative associations

are focused on reorganizations and increased competition.

The prominent place of blogging is remarkable. More than

one third of the journalists write a personal and work related

blog. PR professionals write more purely work-related blogs,

although this group writes less blogs overall. Blogging is seen

as positive, but not (yet) that impactful. We expect this to

grow, because more and more professionals are using blogs

to collect information.

This research confirms the expectation that media profes-

sionals do less fact checking. However, in open answers it

becomes clear that especially journalists don’t not always

agree with this trend, as it goes against their ethical code. PR

professionals do experience that journalist seek less contact

to control facts about their organization. This is in line with the

rest of the results.

THE NETHERLANDS

Summary #SMING15

Social media journey

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

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33


80%

70%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

More than 50% of the US professionals use Instagram.

Pinterest and blogs are used a lot by journalists. However,

Facebook and Twitter are of course the main used platforms.

Blogging is hot in the US! 77% of the journalists and 80% of

the PR professionals writes a blog. This becomes visible in the

stories professionals share about their use of social media.

PR professionals in the US use more crowd checking to ver-

ify whether something is true than journalists. This is also

visible in the attitude statements regarding this subject: 55%

of the journalists does not agree (while 34% agrees) with the

statement ‘it is more important to get the news out first than

to check the facts’. Only 13% of the PR professionals disa-

grees (73% agrees).

The relationship between journalists and PR professionals is

seen as more positive by the PR professionals. PR profes-

sionals perceive journalists as more reliable than journal-

ists PR professionals. PR professionals recall that journalists

seem to contact them less about checking the facts.

USA

Summary #SMING15

34


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

UK professionals associate not only just Facebook, Twitter

and LinkedIn when they think about the use of social media,

but also more emotional components as ‘important’, ‘great’

and ‘useful’ come to mind.

Professionals in the UK have 34% negative associations

when it comes to changes in their profession. This negativity

has mostly to do with more competition and lower budgets,

less people.

Journalists in the UK use Twitter the most to disseminate

the news.

50% of the journalists agree that publishing first is becom-

ing more important than fact checking. However, 40% still

disagrees. Of the PR professionals only 22% disagrees. In

the UK, journalists experience more than PR professionals

that they cannot do their jobs without social media anymore.

UK

Summary #SMING15

35


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

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0%

In Germany, media professionals have the least positive and

impactful associations when thinking about the use of so-

cial media. 40% of their thoughts is negative. They even clas-

sify Facebook as negative.

Still, about 85% of the professionals uses Facebook on a

daily basis. Blogs and YouTube are more used than Twitter.

The German journalists are using blogs after Facebook in ver-

ifying information, responding on comments or dialogues and

reading. And, although they seem not that fond of social me-

dia, about more than 50% of the PR professionals consider

themselves an expert.

German media professionals don’t trust the reliability of so-

cial media and also believe less in the importance of publish-

ing first. This is especially true for German journalists. This

group also doesn’t feel that their influence has increased a lot

by social media as much as their international counterparts.

GERMANY

Summary #SMING15

APPENDIX

1. PLATFORM USAGEWHICH PLATFORMS ARE USED THE MOST?

38

Platform usage - associationsFACEBOOK REIGNS SUPREME IN THE WORLD OF JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS. TWITTER IS USED THE MOST IN THE UK, WHILE INSTAGRAM IS MORE IMPORTANT IN THE US.

QUESTION:

If you think about the use of social mediain your profession, what comes to mind?

39

Platform Usage – associations (journalists)THE UK IS THE ONLY COUNTRY WHERE JOURNALISTS MENTION TWITTER MORE OFTEN THAN FACEBOOK. TWITTER ONLY PLAYS A MARGINAL ROLE IN GERMANY.

QUESTION:

If you think about the use of social media in your profession, what comes to mind?

40

Platform Usage – associations (PR Professionals)FACEBOOK IS THE DOMINANT PLATFORM AMONGST PR PROFESSIONALS IN ALL COUNTRIES. LINKEDIN HAS A STRONG POSITION IN THE NETHERLANDS. XING IS SUCCESSFUL IN GERMANY.

QUESTION:

If you think about the use of social media in your profession, what comes to mind?

41

Daily use of social media

Average amount of hours a day social media is used

US PR PROFESSIONALS USE SOCIAL MEDIA A LOT MORE THAN THEIR INTERNATIONAL COUNTERPARTS. US JOURNALISTS ALSO USE SOCIAL MEDIA THE MOST, BUT UK JOURNALISTS ARE CLOSING IN.

1,181,07

1,931,04

1,371,15

2,122,02

42

Most used platforms (journalists)FACEBOOK IS BY FAR THE MOST USED PLATFORM AMONGST JOURNALISTS.IN THE UK TWITTER IS USED MORE THAN IN THE OTHER COUNTRIES.

88%

86%

56%

53%

86%

55%

53%

48%

91%

63%

54%

42%

87%

70%

57%

55%

43

Most used platforms (PR professionals)FACEBOOK IS USED BY ALMOST ALL PR PROFESSIONALS. LINKEDIN IS ESPECIALLY POPULAR IN THE NETHERLANDS, WHILE GERMANY IS THE ONLY COUNTRY THAT USES GOOGLE+.

83%

63%

53%

41%

87%

52%

51%

47%

88%

72%

65%

44%

87%

65%

56%

52%

2. SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNEYA MORE GRANULAR LOOK INTO PLATFORM USAGE

45

Facebook vs. Twitter (UK)TWITTER IS USED THE MOST BY UK JOURNALISTS, ESPECIALLY FOR DISSEMINATING THE NEWS.FACEBOOK IS USED THE MOST BY PR PROFESSIONALS.


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

46

Facebook vs. Twitter (USA)FACEBOOK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PLATFORM FOR US PR PROFESSIONALS AND JOURNALISTS IN ALL STAGES.


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

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0%

47

Facebook vs. Twitter (the Netherlands)DUTCH JOURNALISTS MOSTLY USE TWITTER TO ANNOUNCE AND DISSEMINATE NEWS, BUT USE FACEBOOK IN ALL STAGES OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNEY.


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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80%

70%

60%

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40%

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48

Facebook vs. Twitter (Germany)THERE IS A HUGE GAP BETWEEN THE USE OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER IN GERMANY.THIS IS TRUE FOR BOTH PROFESSION GROUPS.


80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

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49

TWITTER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANNEL TO DISSEMINATE AND MONITOR THE NEWS.

Social media journey (UK Journalists)



Monitoringnews



Dissiminatingnews

Announcingnews


50

FACEBOOK IS THE MOST USED PLATFORM IN ALL STAGES OF THE PUBLICATION CYCLE.

Social media journey (US Journalists)



Monitoringnews



Dissiminatingnews

Announcingnews


51

FACEBOOK IS THE MOST USED PLATFORM IN ALL STAGES OF THE PUBLICATION CYCLE.

Social media journey (Dutch journalists)



Monitoringnews



Dissiminatingnews

Announcingnews


52

FACEBOOK IS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT PLATFORM AMONGST GERMAN JOURNALISTS.

Social media journey (German journalists)



Monitoringnews



Dissiminatingnews

Announcingnews


3. TRENDSTO WHAT EXTENT DO PROFESSIONALS RECOGNIZE AND APPLY SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS?

54

TRENDS - journalistsIN GENERAL, THE ANGLO-SAXAN JOURNALISTS ARE APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS MORE THAN THEIR CONTINENTAL COUNTERPARTS.

I use social media to catch up with what is happening with the public

I deem the opinion of the consumer (on social media) asmore reliable than a statement from an organization

I make use of crowd checking to check whether something is true

When people react via social media to my publications,I enter actively into dialogue via social media

I recognize this and both mycolleagues and I apply this

I recognize this andapply this myself

I recognize this, but don’tapply this myself

I don’t recognize this

23% 48% 29%

29% 57% 14%

38% 36% 18% 8%

27% 57% 13% 3%

36% 19% 25% 21%

31% 30% 21% 18%

32% 18% 30% 21%

30% 31% 27% 13%

32% 34% 18% 17%

27% 47% 15% 11%

34% 48% 18%

32% 49% 14% 5%

28% 28% 22% 22%

27% 30% 36% 7%

30% 37% 19% 14%

33% 32% 19% 16%

55

TRENDS – PR ProfessionalsDUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS LAG BEHIND THEIR COLLEAGUES IN OTHER COUNTRIES.THE VAST MAJORITY OF PR PROFESSIONALS IN THE US APPLY ALL TRENDS ALREADY.

I use social media to catch up with what is happening with the public

I deem the opinion of the consumer (on social media) asmore reliable than a statement from an organization

I make use of crowd checking to check whether something is true

When people react via social media to my publications,I enter actively into dialogue via social media

I recognize this and both mycolleagues and I apply this

I recognize this andapply this myself

I recognize this, but don’tapply this myself

I don’t recognize this

33% 54% 12%

42% 40% 17%

46% 32% 19% 3%

1%

38% 53% 8% 2%

43% 26% 26% 6%

38% 22% 32% 9%

32% 24% 31% 12%

49% 35% 12% 5%

41% 29% 22% 8%

36% 39% 20% 4%

38% 36% 19%

36% 46% 17% 1%

34% 19% 27% 20%

39% 29% 28% 3%

37% 37% 20% 7%

37% 42% 15% 5%

8%

4. VIEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIAWHAT IS THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS SOCIAL MEDIA?

57

Views on social media - journalistsGERMAN JOURNALISTS DON’T PERCEIVE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION, AND ALSO DON’T SEE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA ARE USE TO PUT PRESSURE ON ORGANIZATIONS.

Trends: in my daily job I see that…

Role of social media

...social media have become the most important source of information 59% 52% 61% 64%

...I can no longer do my daily work properly without social media 58% 62% 74% 66%

...social media put me in a position to have more contact with my audience 78% 73% 87% 82%

Reliability of social media

...social media are a reliable source of information 46% 32% 61% 56%

...it is more important to get the news out first than to check al facts first 48% 30% 51% 34%

Usage of social media

...social media are increasingly being used to exert pressure on organizations 75% 59% 81% 81%

58

Views on social media - journalistsJOURNALISTS IN THE US AND UK FEEL MORE STRONGLY THAT THEIR IMPACT HAS INCREASED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. GERMAN JOURNALISTS DON’T PERCEIVE THAT TRADITIONAL MEDIA ARE BECOMING LESS RELEVANT DUE TO (THE RISE OF) SOCIAL MEDIA.


Impact of social media

...traditional PR tools, such as press releases have become less important as a result of social media 62% 38% 71% 62%

...my impact has increased strongly through social media 63% 59% 77% 76%

...social media give the news a stronger impact than traditional media 69% 55% 72% 70%

...social media have a more rapid impact in time than traditional media 77% 78% 90% 83%

Social media vs. traditional media

...I express myself differently on social media than on traditional media 62% 59% 71% 73%

...I use social media differently than traditional tools 73% 74% 76% 78%

...social media are exerting an increasing influence on the news 74% 73% 90% 89%

...illustrations, photos and videos are becoming increasingly important in reporting 81% 78% 88% 83%

...a human voice/vision has become more important in a news item 76% 60% 72% 74%

59

Views on social media - PR professionalsDUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS DON’T PERCEIVE SOCIAL MEDIA AS THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFORMATION AS MUCH AS PR PROFESSIONALS IN OTHER COUNTRIES. PR PROFESSIONALS IN THE US ARE EXTREMELY POSITIVE IN THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE ROLE AND RELIABILITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA.


Role of social media

...social media have become the most important source of information 54% 64% 64% 76%

...I can no longer do my daily work properly without social media 59% 58% 63% 77%

...social media put me in a position to have more contact with my audience 71% 80% 74% 85%

Reliability of social media

...social media are a reliable source of information 39% 55% 60% 80%

...it is more important to get the news out first than to check al facts first 43% 44% 57% 73%

Usage of social media

...social media are increasingly being used to exert pressure on organizations 78% 74% 79% 88%

60

Views on social media – PR ProfessionalsAGAIN, US PR PROFESSIONALS ARE MUCH MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA, AND HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS USED COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL MEDIA.


Impact of social media

...traditional PR tools, such as press releases have become less important as a result of social media 63% 51% 61% 77%

...my impact has increased strongly through social media 65% 60% 70% 84%

...social media give the news a stronger impact than traditional media 65% 62% 66% 79%

...social media have a more rapid impact in time than traditional media 75% 71% 75% 88%

Social media vs. traditional media

...I express myself differently on social media than on traditional media 56% 64% 66% 83%

...I use social media differently than traditional tools 70% 71% 69% 82%

...social media are exerting an increasing influence on the news 78% 69% 72% 90%

...illustrations, photos and videos are becoming increasingly important in reporting 80% 79% 73% 88%

...a human voice/vision has become more important in a news item 71% 64% 64% 85%

5. EXPECTATIONSWHICH DEVELOPMENTS DO PROFESSIONALS EXPECT?

62

Expected trends in social mediaDUTCH JOURNALISTS EXPECT FACT CHECKING WILL BE DONE INCREASINGLY LESS. PR PROFESSIONALS DO EXPECT THIS A LOT LESS (US PR PROFESSIONALS ARE AN EXCEPTION).

...crowd checking will playan increasingly larger role

in journalism

...the role of social media withinjournalism, PR, being a spokespersonand crisis management will increase

over the year ahead

...real-time journalism will playan important role in journalism

...user-generated content (such asphotos and tweets) will be used

increasingly often as input for the news

I expect that..

...fact checking will be doneincreasingly less

71%

73%82%83%

70%

75%80%

83%

63%

53%57%

51%

65%

56%73%

80%

69%70%

80%79%

77%

69%77%

85%

75%

76%70%

79%

48%

51%64%

75%

69%

65%71%

77%

72%81%

74%78%

63

ChangesSOCIAL MEDIA AND THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ARE PERCEIVED AS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGESIN THE PROFESSIONS OF JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS. THIS IS LESS TRUE IN GERMANY.

QUESTION:

If you think about the the changes in your pro-fession in the past year, what comes to mind?

64

Changes (excluding social media)IF WE ZOOM IN ON THE SPECIFIC CHANGES WE ALSO SEE SOME CONCERNSABOUT INCREASED COMPETITION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES.

QUESTION:


65

Changes (journalists)

QUESTION:


66

Changes (PR professionals)

QUESTION:


67

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CHANGES IN PROFESSION ARE NOT ALWAYS POSITIVE DUE TO REORGANIZATIONS AND INCREASED COMPETITION.

Not impactful Impactful

Positive

Not positive

The Netherlands

5%54%

11% 30%

Without ‘none’

68

45% OF THE ASSOCIATIONS ARE NOT POSITIVE.THESE HAVE MOST TO DO WITH MORE PRESSURE, LESS PEOPLE.


Positive

Not positive

Germany

Without ‘none’

5%51%

21% 24%

69

IN THE UK 55% OF THE CHANGES IN PROFESSION AREPOSITIVE AND IMPACTFUL.HOWEVER: 34% IS NOT POSITIVE.


Positive

Not positive

United Kingdom

Without ‘none’

11% 55%

19% 15%

70

CHANGES: 60% OF THE CHANGES MENTIONED ARE POSITIVE AND IMPACTFUL.


Positive

Not positive

USA

Without ‘none’

9% 60%

12% 19%

6. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOURNALISTS & PR PROFESSIONALS

72

Relationship between journalists & PR professionalsPR PROFESSIONALS ARE MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH JOURNALISTS THAN VICE VERSA. ANGLO-SAXAN JOURNALISTS/PR PROFESSIONALS ARE MORE POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR RELATION THAN THE DUTCH AND GERMAN JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS.

My relationship with journalists / PR professionalsis very good

91%75%

81%62%

64%47%

63%53%

My relationship with journalists / PR professionalshas strongly improved over the past year

80%61%

57%57%

48%38%

34%40%

My contact with journalists / PR professionalshas strongly increased over the past year

80%61%

58%52%

49%31%

34%35%

73

I am happy with my relationship with journalists/PR professionals -2% -9% -1% -20%

Journalists/PR professionals are really open to make contact with fellow professionals via social media -4% - +4% -22%

Journalists/PR professionals like to be contacted via social media +5% -5% +3% -23%

Journalists/PR professionals have become more independent of journalists/PR professionals through social media -1% -9% -1% -14%

As a result of social media, I am increasingly independent of journalists/PR professionals +7% -20% +2% -34%

Journalists/PR professionals are able to improve the quality of a press release or news report -10% -17% -8% -23%

Journalists/PR professionals are a reliable source of information -6% -8% -3% -26%

The relation between PR professionals and journalistsIF WE LOOK AT THE DELTA’S WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT PR PROFESSIONALS AND JOURNALISTS THINK SIMILAR ABOUT EACH OTHER IN THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY AND THE UK. IN THE US, PR PROFESSIONALS ARE MUCH MORE POSITIVE ABOUT JOURNALISTS THAN VICE VERSA.

* A positive % indicates that journalists agree more with the statement.A negative % indicates that PR professionals agree more with the statement.

74

JOURNALISTS IN THE UK AND US CONTACT ORGANIZATIONS LESS TO CHECK FACTS.

Journalists about their relation with PR professionals

I am happy with my relationship with PR professionals 53% 58% 61% 60%

PR professionals are really open to make contact with fellow professionals via social media 52% 56% 66% 58%

PR professionals like it when they are contacted via social media 50% 42% 52% 51%

PR professionals have become more independent of journalists through social media 47% 48% 57% 61%

As a result of social media, I am increasingly independent of PR professionals 51% 41% 52% 44%

PR information improves the quality of reporting 54% 48% 54% 55%

PR professionals are a reliable source of information 40% 50% 49% 51%

I collect an increasing amount of news via ordinary people 52% 55% 62% 61%

I make increasingly less contact with organizations to check facts 29% 27% 42% 42%

75

PR professionals about their relation with journalistsUS PR PROFESSIONALS SEEM TO BE A LOT MORE POSITIVE ABOUT JOURNALISTS AND THE WAY THEY USE SOCIAL MEDIA. THE DUTCH PR PROFESSIONALS SEEM TO THINK MORE THAT JOURNALISTS ARE STILL DEPENDENT ON PR PROFESSIONALS.

I am happy with my relationship with journalists 56% 67% 62% 80%

Journalists are really open to make contact with fellow professionals via social media 56% 56% 62% 80%

Journalists like to be contacted via social media 45% 48% 48% 74%

Journalists have become more independent of PR professionals through social media 47% 57% 58% 74%

As a result of social media, I am increasingly independent of journalists 44% 61% 49% 78%

Journalists are able to improve the quality of a press release or news report 64% 65% 62% 78%

Journalists are a reliable source of information 47% 58% 53% 77%

I collect an increasing amount of news via the target group 53% 71% 59% 77%

I see that journalists make contact less often with an organization to check their facts 50% 54% 58% 69%

I see that contact is made with me more often through other stakeholder/concerned parties than journalists when it comes to information and news

45% 61% 59% 74%

76

Contacting journalistsTHE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE MOST USED AND MOST PREFERRED WAY OF BEING CONTACTED IS RELATIVELY SMALL. JOURNALISTS STRONGLY PREFER BEING CONTACTED VIA EMAIL.

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

13%18%

13%13%

3%1%

52%58%

19%10%

16%14%

13%16%

7%4%

46%56%

16%10%

8%9%

17%13%

8%5%

48%59%

17%14%

12%20%

22%17%

9%6%

37%45%

17%8%

Most used way of being contacted by PR professionals

Preferred way of contacting by PR professionals

77

Contacting PR professionalsTHE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MOST PREFERRED AND MOST CONTACTED WAY OF BEING CONTACTEDBY JOURNALISTS IS SUBSTANTIAL, ESPECIALLY IN THE UK.

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

Face-to-face

Phone

Messaging

E-mail

Social media

34%18%

29%20%

8%14%

19%27%

9%21%

31%40%

31%21%

11%5%

19%27%

7%7%

25%29%

33%29%

7%4%

23%33%

8%5%

18%32%

38%34%

10%5%

24%26%

10%2%

Most used way of being contacted by journalists

Preferred way of contacting by journalists

7. ONE PAGERS 2014 - 2015

79

TREND 1:

TREND 5:

TREND 2:

TREND 3:

TREND 4:

Dutch journalists perceive social mediamore and more as a more reliablesource of information

Traditional mediachannels are becomingless important due tosocial media

Dutch journalists expect that the balance of fact- and crowd checking will change dramatically

60% of the Dutch journalistsnow perceives social media as their most important source of information.An increase of 6% since 2014.

63% of the Dutch journalistsstill feels that social mediahas given them more influence(no change since 2014).

2015

2015

20142014


+ 27%

2015

2014 37%

63%


+ 22%

2015

2014 43%

65%

49% 62%+ 13%

+ 11%

35%

46%

80

TREND 1:

TREND 5:

TREND 2:

TREND 3:

TREND 4:

Dutch PR professionals remain scepticalabout the reliability of social media

Traditional mediachannels are becomingless important due tosocial media

Dutch PR professionals seem to think that the role of social media is stabilizing

59% of the Dutch PR professionalswouldn’t be able to carry out their jobwithout social mediaA 9% increase since 2014.

50% of the Dutch PR professionalsfeels that journalists contact them less to check information about theirorganization (+6% since 2014).

2015

2015

20142014

2015

2014

49% 63%+ 14%

-4%

43%

39%

The role of social media within the field of PR (including spokepersons, crisis management and journalism) will further increase in the future

- 12%

84%

72%

RESEARCH ACCOUNTABILITY

82

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CATEGORY

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOURNALISTS AND PR PROFESSIONALS

ATTITUDES, CHANGES AND EXPECTATIONS

BEHAVIOUR AND TRENDS

STORYTELLING IN RELATION TO THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA(INCLUDING CLASSIFYING OWN STORY)

Our research model is holistic in nature and integrates

qualitative research techniques with quantitative validation.

We questioned approximately 1,000 media professionals in

the Netherlands, Germany, England and the United States. We

asked them to share their stories and social media experiences

with us.

We also asked them to share their opinions on the use of

social media in their field and their expectations with respect to

social media developments in particular.

Questionnaire structure

SCREENING

FREE ASSOCIATIONS

83

83

99

138

167

TARGET GROUP:

SAMPLE SIZE:

FIELDWORK PERIOD:

QUALITY ASSURANCE:

PR professionals (PR consultants, corporate communication professionalsand representatives)

Journalists (editors, bloggers and vloggers)

The online fieldwork was conductedfrom 18 to 30 May 2015.

162

132

98

112

In consultation with DVJ, an internation-al scope was selected for this year’s questionnaire. To facilitate the further development of the questionnaire, the existing questionnaire layout was used (and revised), vision talks were held with the NVJ and VPRA and the expertise of DVJ and ING was utilized. Free associ-ations and storytelling were also used, including a thorough data check.

Sample and data collection

84

CONTACT INFORMATIONFOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

LUCAS HULSEBOS

[email protected]

@dvjinsights

+31 (0) 6 434 794 58

HAROLD REUSKEN

[email protected]

@haroldreusken

+31 (0) 6 549 844 13

News & Politics

Social Media Impact On News #SMING15