WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Journalists are relying more and more on Web logs for tips, a new survey has found.
The "11th Annual Euro RSCG Magnet Survey of the Media," to be released next month, found that 33 percent of journalists use blogs as a way of uncovering breaking news or scandals.
Blogs are Web sites where individuals or groups of people share their opinions on topics ranging from the family cat's antics to political campaigns and corporations in the format of periodic time-stamped postings.
A 2004 Pew study found that about 8 million Americans operated blogs, although only a very small portion are read by anyone outside the writer's circle of personal acquaintances.
According to Euro RSCG Magnet, a public relations and research firm in New York City, only 1 percent of the 1,202 journalists in the survey said they consider blogs credible, but 51 percent read blogs regularly, and 70 percent of those who use blogs do so for work-related purposes, such as finding story ideas, researching, referencing facts and finding sources.
For instance, the news that Kryptonite bicycle locks could be picked with ballpoint pens circulated in various blogs for five days before major newspapers published the story, Euro RSCG Magnet reported in a separate publication on its Web site, "Developing Effective Communication Strategies for the Blogosphere: A perspective on integrating blogging into a strategic public relations program."
"The findings of this year's study simply validate what we have known for some time: that blogs are playing a more significant role in the way information is transmitted to readers and journalists alike, and may profoundly alter the media and communications landscapes," Aaron Kwittken, Euro RSCG Magnet's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "The fact that the media are using blogs for reporting and research also demonstrates that blogs have an enormous potential to not only influence the general public, but to influence the influencers -- journalists and the media -- as well."
Steven S. Ross, an associate professor at Columbia University who led the study, said in a statement the findings have relevance to the education of future journalists.
"As blogs continue to gain in popularity, quality and influence, it is becoming imperative that journalists and journalism students continue to integrate blogs, especially blogs that cover technology, into their reporting practices," Ross said. "A number of credible and influential Web logs -- such as Scobleizer, Gizmodo and Boing Boing -- provide an invaluable trove of research, story ideas and other information that current and future journalists would be remiss not to leverage in their reporting."
The survey's findings about blogs were mixed with data about trust issues in the media. About 45 percent of respondents said they were less trusting of the professional behavior of their colleagues, up from 34 percent in 2003. Also, 93 percent identified themselves as careful in fact-checking their stories, up from 59 percent in 2003, and 93 percent said they are less trusting of colleagues who are paid to act as spokespeople.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the Dan Rather scandal profoundly altered the media's credibility, and 79 percent said recent revelations about journalists taking payment from third parties have had quite a strong effect on media credibility.
Some corporations, such as Nike, Maytag and Stonyfield Farms, maintain their own blogs, according to another Euro RSCG Magnet publication. The blogs cover aspects of corporate operations ranging from producing promotional films to sales. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed predicted blogs will become a more popular tool for corporations seeking to inform consumers.
Nevertheless, 56 percent agreed that blogs will remain an independent and unorthodox means of disseminating information. This follows a trend in which reporters prefer independent over corporate sources, because 49 percent said they have lost trust in corporations over the past year and 76 percent said corporate candidness in times of crisis is quite poor.
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Eva Sylwester is an intern for UPI Science News. E-mail: [email protected]
