According to a report made by the Indiana University School of Journalism, new data shows the important use of social media for journalists for not only getting their news, but for self-promoting themselves and sharing their work as well.
The Washington Post shows how the impact of the internet has grown drastically, where 40 percent of the journalists studied said that social media sites are crucial for their work. Over a third also said that they spend 30 to 60 minutes on social media websites a day. Twitter, which is considered a microblog, was seen to be used by more than half of those surveyed, and used on a regular basis. Almost 80 percent said they stay on top of breaking news by checking social media sites. A large 73 percent also admit that they use these sites to stay on top of what their competition is reporting as well.
Along with obtaining news quickly and easily, more than 80 percent agreed that it helped them share their work on a global scale and kept them more engaged with their audience.
Adweek, a blog network, notes that journalists are learning to adapt to this new shift by implementing 5 key factors to make their stories more shareable. Imagery such as video, localization, trending topics, human voice, and brevity are all said to help journalists reach a larger audience.
Many journalists are aware of the tremendous change seen in the media world and are embracing these social media networks to help them enhance their stories and also themselves.