A view of evolving sources of news for journalists with “#MediaInsights Report”

The research has been jointly conducted by 20:20 MSL and IIMC to study the changing patterns of news sourcing by journalists, especially with the advent of social media

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | August 28, 2013

In an attempt to demystify the rapidly evolving media universe in India and shed light on the growing appeal of new-age alternatives to the press release, 20:20 MSL (part of MSLGROUP), in collaboration with the Advertising & Public Relations Department of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), has launched the “#MediaInsights report”, a first-of-its kind research to arrive at insights that would benefit India's media and communications industry.

When a piping hot story is on the anvil, only one in eleven journalists would use more than half the press releases that flood their email inboxes. Internal brainstorming sessions remain the most preferred among many when it comes to exercising their grey cells in the newsroom. An emphasis on the diversity of content from the media has driven a series of compelling changes in the conventions of news sourcing among journalists and other media professionals. The public sentiments that are considered in constructing a story, the advent of the social media space as a hub for story ideas, and extensive use of official websites to cull out authentic data are some of the most striking industrywide changes that the report has highlighted.

Chetan Mahajan, Managing Director, 20:20 MSL, said, “It is imperative for a next generation insights-driven agency to understand the media environment in order to be a strategic advisor to the stakeholders. We jointly conducted this research with IIMC, in order to get insights to address the gap between news-makers, news-consumers and the media. The report has successfully mapped the changes and brought out some compelling facts. I believe that this report will help PR practitioners in best aligning their strategies and tactics.”

Sunit Tandon, Director General, IIMC, described the report as the "first in a series of such studies that would be useful for all who are interested in understanding the rapidly changing contours and dynamics of the Indian news media sector."

The research was conducted with a stratified sample of 309 journalists nationwide cutting across age, gender, specialization, etc. The report also focuses on several statistical data sets including the following:

(i)       The ratio of stories produced by senior correspondents to those filed by young reporters

(ii)     The frequency of social media usage in newsrooms, and

(iii)   The reliance that journalists place on the Internet for sourcing news

(iv)   The male versus women reporters' behavior towards different news sources

Please view the full report here.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com