B2B journalists turn to blogs for info

The NUJ may think that Web 2.0 is "rubbish ", but B2B journalists are increasingly turning to blogs and other forms of online media for information and ideas, according to a new survey.

It found that 80% would use blogs as primary or secondary sources, while many use podcasts and RSS feeds for inspiration.

Arketi Group, a PR consultancy, surveyed 61 US B2B journalists and found that six in ten spent more than 20 hours a week online.

Blogs

• A quarter said that blogs made their jobs easier, while 46% got involved by leaving comments on blogs.
  
  
• As for using blogs as sources, 20% had already done so while 18% had done but reported it as a rumour. Eighteen percent said they would if the informationn was confirmed by an independent source, while a further 16% only trusted blogs from a ‘reliable’ news source. Only 2% said they would never use blogs as sources.

News sources

• Ninety percent used industry sources and press releases for story ideas, 79% found ideas on newswires, 74% from websites, and 54% from blogs. 
  

Credible sources of information

• International organisations (89%)
  
• Government agencies (85%)
  
• Corporate websites (85%)
  
• PR professionals (77%)
  
• Activist websites (41%)
  
• Blogs (41%)
  
• Politicians (35%)
  
• Chat, message boards (18%)

Related stories:
Old media attacks blogs, internet, leftists, people
Web 2.0 participation 'lower than expected'

Add to Del.icio.us  |  Digg this  |  Add to reddit  |  Add to Y! MyWeb