According to a new study by Arketi Group, b2b public relations and marketing firm, 68% of journalists consider the impact of social media on BtoB reporting to be positive.
When asked how journalists use the Internet:
* 95% say search
* 92% say reading news
* 92% say emailing
* 89% say finding story ideas
* 87% say finding news sources
* 75% say reading blogs
* 64% say watching webinars
* 61% say watching YouTube
* 59% say social networks
Eighty-eight percent of journalists say they spend 20 or more hours a week on the Internet; 85% have a LinkedIn account, 55% are on Facebook and 24% tweet on Twitter.
Ninety-two percent of journalists say they get story ideas from news releases; 85% turn to industry sources, and an equal number tap PR contacts. Twelve percent have used Twitter to find a source or story idea.
Corporate Web sites make a difference in how journalists view an organization; 80% say companies without a Web site are less credible.
The growth of "citizen journalism" has not gone unnoticed by most journalists, more than half (56%) of those surveyed rate the impact of citizen journalism as positive.