BY SHANKAR & DR. KIRANJIT
SOCIAL MEDIA: SOCIAL MEDIA: JOURNALISTS, PUBLIC JOURNALISTS, PUBLIC RELATIONS – TRUST RELATIONS – TRUST
OR DISTRUST?OR DISTRUST?
July 12, Shah Alam, MalaysiaA PRACTITIONERS’ PERSPECTIVE
INDEX
Introduction Context Objective of Study Study – Methodology
Respondents – India/Malaysia Findings Conclusion Way Forward
INTRODUCTION
News Gathering process – Traditional & New
Regional media driving circulation & readership
Internet access – differential
Use of Social Media by PR Professionals
Organisation policy & Use of Social Media
Advent of Smart Phones/Tablets
Use of SM varies in India & Malaysia
CONTEXT FOR STUDY
Digital Media enables faster & reliable news
gathering process
With Digital Media becoming ‘Social’ - information
exchange is now web | mobile based
Advent of SM is leading to virtual engagement
Technology, preference & absorption influences
information exchange
Location is a major determinant of using SM
COMMUNICATION ECO-SYSTEM
OrganisationPublic Relations Journalists
Social Media
COMMUNICATION ECO-SYSTEM
Organisation
Develop road map for better communication strategy that leverages SM
Help develop SM as effective medium to share information, updates, trends and better engagement beyond information exchange
Public Relations Journalists
Social Media
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
Understand role of SM in news gathering
Understand role & impact of SM
Type of SM being used & its importance in news
reporting or information exchange
Understand usage of SM in India and Malaysia
Is SM being leveraged to reach larger audiences
METHODOLOGY Study focuses on usage of SM among Journalists & PR For better insights into the above, Indian & Malaysia Journalists & PR fraternity were approached with questionnaires
Survey in India In India – 60 Journalists & PR Practitioners were approached E-Mail, Phone & in-person interviews used for data collection
Survey in MalaysiaSurvey of 442 Journalists in Malaysia done in 2010 – trying to understand reliance on digital media10 PR practitioners in Malaysia from Govt., Consultancy & Corporate sector E-Mail, Phone & in-person interviews used for data collection
Administered the same questionnaire to bring uniformity
RESPONDENTS
A. JournalistsMainline – English & Financial DailiesVernacular – TeluguTelevision – National & TeluguB. PR ProfessionalsPR agencyCorporate CommunicationsIndividual ConsultantsC. LocationsHyderabad | Delhi | Mumbai | Chennai| Bangalore| US
Total Sample Size Approached: 60 & Responded: 35Journalists: 19PR Professionals: 16
INDUSTRY – SOME BASIC STATS
Newspaper Industry (Source: WPT, 2011 report from WAN-IFRA)
Publishing industry global revenues - $160 bn annually Global Circulation: 519 million – reaches 2.3 bn daily, with 20% reading on Internet Between 2006-10, print circulation has dropped India & China are “world absolute leaders in industry” Circulation in India grew by 8.23% in 2010-11 – regional dailies accounting for significant increase Malay media is State-owned & State-controlled
Television 141 million TV households in India – 116 mn connected by cable, 25 mn. by DTH
Internet 100 million Internet users in India vs. 500 mn. in China 17 mn. Internet users in Malaysia – 64% users under 35
Staggering numbers – IGNORE AT ONE’S RISK??
RESEARCH QUESTIONS FOR STUDY
Do journalists use SM as an information source to file
stories – News Gathering Process
Is SM a credible source to get information – issues of
trust??
Interplay between journalists, PR professionals & client
– use of SM
Role of SM as a tool to reach journalists by PR | Client
Role of SM being leveraged by news media to extend
their reach to consumers
SOCIAL MEDIA – TRUST & PREFERENCES
News Gathering process changed with advent of SM
SM is useful tool for FACT-CHECKING & NOT YET used as
resource for news gathering
SM facilitates by-passing organizational route for
information exchange
Advent of SM created Citizen Journalism as another news
gathering tool - ACTIVISM
SM lead to democratization of news gathering process??
However, Institutionalized Mechanism of Media Houses has not undergone dramatic changes with advent of SM
FINDINGS – INDIAN SCENARIO
SM Usage in Mainstream English dailies determined
by Seniority in Media house & organization support
Vernacular print media not yet using SM for news
gathering
Vernacular TV Channels more proficient in using SM
National TV Channels use SM for news gathering
Financial Dailies use SM but are location-specific
TOOLS FB | Twitter being used as ‘leads’ & to get reactions Genuine FB | Twitter handle needed to get authentic information YouTube is gaining popularity among Govt. agencies, Corporate & even young tech-savvy politicos LinkedIn being used by financial reporters to do credibility check
Issues Lack of training, supervision & resources to verify information sourced from using SM – Worrying Credibility & Authenticity of Information – Larger Worry
FINDINGS – INDIAN SCENARIO
FINDINGS – INDIAN JOURNALISTS
SM helps build new contacts, conduct due-diligence Despite issues on credibility & trust – SM is appreciated for swiftness, wide reach & enables cross-checking of information SM helps PR & Journalists interact more professionallyTwitter | FB| YouTube & LI have created spl. media platforms Interactive SM allows for better dialogue Journalists, however need to careful in verifying information & advent of SM has made it pertinent, more so for TV Sports reporters leverage SM for sharing scores, match updates
FINDINGS – INDIAN JOURNALISTS
Flip side of SM usage – worry for journalists & PR: Negative comments by irate customers picked up by journos to make sensational stories – goes viral pretty soon: Huge crisis situation for PR & his client Media Management difficult NOW than in pre-social days SM reduces engagement quality – virtual builds speed but loses human connect Journalists worry about information exchange over SM due to privacy – SM service provider has access to dataParadox in India – Regional Media driving growth in readership & circulation BUT restricted use of SM – Organisation Policy: Needs to change
FINDINGS – MALAYSIA JOURNALISTS
2010 Survey findings reflect study of 442 Journos: Over 90% Journos preferred mail to receive press releases Over 90% journos preferred mail for getting story pitches FB preferred over Twitter, YouTube also fares poorly: Malay are yet to embrace SM for Journalism professionState-controlled media don’t rely on SM for news gathering despite Opposition parties using SM to flay govt. policies Blogs are more popular than SM for Malay journosRSS Feeds, podcasts, blogs are used sparingly PR professionals propagate use of SM for information exchange but journos prefer blogs/mail for news gathering
FINDINGS – INDIAN PR
Use of SM by PR professionals depends on location SM as Game-Changer in building client perception Credibility of PR guy critical in information-sharing Twitter | FB | YouTube major SM channels used to meet demands of 24x7 media Recent news breaks in India have been on SM – Lalit Modi; Vijay Mallya; Shashi Tharoor etc PR guys follow Journalists blogs | Twitter| FB posts Clients are early adopters – post financial results, product launches, CEO views on issues | budgets Clients NOW VERY vulnerable to attacksSM is an Egalitarian Platform - equal opportunity
FINDINGS – MALAYSIAN PR
Limited use of SM by PR for reaching Journalists Journalists seek information over mail not SM Websites are better information sources than SM SM platform to get story leads – TRUST?? Despite following FB | Twitter posts, they still cross-check information using traditional means Govt. uses SM to reach public not media Firms prefer information exchange in person vs. SM Explore SM debate on issues – Usage is more reactive Clients still NOT open to SM – issues of control, cost Senior journos & CEOs still prefer person vs SM Client Use of SM is determined by industry & need
SOCIAL MEDIA LEVERAGING
Media houses use SM to reach younger audience
Media leverage SM to get customers base, run
promotions
Collaborative Reporting – leading to activism
Online marketing helps media grow circulation |
viewership
Twitter & Blogs becoming key sources of leads &
insights
SM can go viral pretty fast – motivated campaigns
SM builds “informed society” for news hungry people
CONCLUSIONS SM is GREAT LEVELLER – speed & reach Nascent stage in India & Malaysia with limited use SM is powerful “Force Multiplier” – helps cross boundaries Posts on FB|Twitter channel work as leads for storyJournalists are “Early Rejecters” & “Late Adopters” Journalists & Media Houses need to use SM for news gathering BUT have ability to cut co-efficient of exaggeration Rising Internet, Smart-phones give fillip to SM SM has altered Journalist-PR interactions – low costs Digital Media as 5th estate & help credibility for 4th estate
WAY FORWARD SM as a source needs to establish credibility & trust Acceptability needs to be addressed Corporate use of SM – issues of control, time, effort SM has to grow beyond source for leads of “News Break” SM engagement for both communities needs more grounding – will help increase interactions even virtually SM is still ONLY Channel NOT Strategy as engagement model is not establishedMove from Frequent to Meaningful Conversation Organisation support & empowerment required
THANKS FOR YOUR TIMEPlease share your inputs/comments on:
Shankar, HP: +91.99490.93501
Mail: [email protected]
Dr Kiranjit Kaur; (off) 603-5543-5936
Mail: [email protected]
Check final presentation @ http://www.slideshare.net/shankarchelluri1