Jumper never confuse quantity with quality.
Here is an interesting look at media
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/11 ... onhuh.htmlWhile I would suspect that the findings of a MediaPost Research Brief come as no surprise I do think there are some questions that may be considered as a result. To get the gist of these findings the following quote sums it up:
Preliminary findings about these Millenial Generation journalists, shared by the Society for New Communications Research Symposium, showed that 100% of Millennial respondents (i.e., 18-29 year-olds) believe new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, versus 40% in the 50-64 demographic.
Now it gets interesting. Since I fall somewhere in between these two groups (and please feel free to play ‘Guess Frank’s age’ in your comments) I need to understand this a little better. First, where is the voice of that ‘in between’ group, those of us between 30-49? Would there be a higher adoption rate than the older group but a lower one than the Millenials and wouldn’t it be interesting to know how slight or severe that difference is (or would that make the findings less ‘intense’ which is part of my next point).
Ok, so here’s where I go get to the point that will probably burn some of you up. There are all kinds of fun statistics in this research about adoption rates and how wonderful the Millenial group is because they are the up and coming journalists that have embraced social media blah, blah, blah. What is never addressed, however, is quality of coverage. I suspect you come to Marketing Pilgrim because you get a good feel for the news of the day in the internet marketing space and there is little fluff or sensationalism. Opinions are one thing….this is a blog after all. That’s when this type of communication is good. Well, many of the younger set are drinking up everything that is said and then repackaging it as the truth because they simply may not know better. Worse yet, they may want to just to something ‘spectacular’ to make their mark. Here is a comic for you from this past Sunday from a personal favorite, “Get Fuzzy”. This has readily been swiped from the Comics.com site which you should visit regularly for a good laugh. I will let the author, Darby Conley, make his point (which his strip does often):
My fear is that we start to replace the truth with information. That can easily be done especially in the sensationalistic world we live in. As responsible internet marketers and business people we have to sift through this with great intentionality and discernment to make sure that what we are reading and making decisions on is actually true. If the data is in fact the product of an over zealous person who thinks they are getting some nugget of wisdom from another blogger whose intention is to make a name for his/herself , truth be damned, it can be dangerous. At some point, when people catch on that much of social media is noise they will back away and make it less effective. Look at MySpace. Once its market was pretty wide open but now it is pigeon-holed for the very young and spammers because it became noise. It lost it’s appeal to many and opened the door for Facebook, LinkedIn etc. . Same holds true for this dependence on sources that really have no basis in anything other than the author getting ahead. Let the reader beware!
Millennial Journalists Leading New Media Usage
by Jack Loechner, Monday, November 24, 2008, 8:15 AM
While journalists across all age groups and beat assignments are rapidly adopting social media tools into their everyday work, the greatest usage is shown by young "Millennial Generation" journalists.
Preliminary findings about these Millenial Generation journalists, shared by the Society for New Communications Research Symposium, showed that 100% of Millennial respondents (i.e., 18-29 year-olds) believe new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, versus 40% in the 50-64 demographic.
Don Middleberg, formerly Associate Professor of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, said that "The most... significant finding of this... survey is the rapid adoption of new media and online communication among all journalists. The disparity in usage and perceived value of these new tools and technologies to the future of journalism is particularly striking among the youngest demographic versus the oldest."
The study, conducted by SNCR and Middleberg Communications, includes the following key findings:
* 87% of 18-29 year-olds believe bloggers have become important opinion-shapers, versus 60% of 50-64 year-olds
* 87% of 18-29 year-olds confirm that new media and communications enhances the relationship with their audience, versus 42% of 50-64 year-olds
* 48% of all respondents use LinkedIn, and 45% use Facebook to assist in reporting
* 68% of all respondents use blogs to keep up on issues or topics of interest
* 86% of all respondents use company websites, 71% use Wikipedia, and 46% use blogs to research an individual organization
Middleberg continued by saying "... we have new ways to reach and communicate with a whole new generation of journalists. The communications professionals who embrace these changes will be far more effective and successful."
While it's not entirely surprising, notes the report, that this younger generation of journalists are users of these new communications tools... they understand how to use them effectively in their work, and are pushing the journalism profession as a whole to create a more collaborative, reciprocal, interactive, and fluid form of journalism.
What is striking about this survey, says the report, is that it is very clear that the ‘Millennials' - the younger journalists entering the workforce - are adopting new media and social tools more readily and seeing their value, especially in terms of collaborating with their peers and strengthening their relationships with their audiences and the people in the areas they cover.
ALSO:
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site ... ewsLang=en Over Half of Americans Say They Tend Not to Trust the Press
For political news, people turn to local television news followed by cable news networks and local newspapers
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During this political primary season, the media, especially cable news networks, have seen a large increase in viewers, listeners and/or readers. But, with all this do people actually trust the media? The answer is not really. Looking at the press in general, over half (54%) of Americans say they tend not to trust them, with only 30 percent tending to trust the press. Just under half (46%) of Americans say they do not trust television, while one-third (36%) do trust them. Somewhat surprisingly, Internet news and information sites do slightly better as a plurality of Americans (41%) trust them while just one-third (34%) tend not to trust them. And, radio tends to do best among Americans as 44 percent say they tend to trust it and one-third (32%) tend not to trust radio.
These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 15 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive®.
Partisan Attitudes towards the Media
Overall, Democrats are more likely to trust the media than Republicans, even with regard to radio. Just over half of Democrats (51%) trust radio compared to 45 percent of Republicans, and 45 percent of Democrats tend to trust Internet news and information sites compared to 40 percent of Republicans. The largest differences are for television and the press. Half of Democrats (50%) say they tend to trust television compared to three in ten (31%) Republicans. When it comes to the press in general, a plurality of Democrats (43%) say they tend to trust them, but only one in five (19%) of Republicans say the same.
Political News Sources
In this election year, people are turning to various sources to get their news on politics – whether on candidates or on issues. When Americans are looking for political news, seven in ten (70%) of them turn to their local television news all the time or occasionally, followed by two-thirds (66%) who turn to cable television news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX all the time or occasionally. Two-thirds (65%) also go to their local newspapers for news on politics all the time or occasionally, while 64 percent turn to the network television news.
While the media has spent a great deal of effort enhancing their various websites, these are not where people are turning. One-third (32%) of Americans say they never go to the websites for national newspapers for political news while three in ten (30%) say they never go to the websites for the cable news stations when looking for political news. Looking at some other media, just over one-quarter (28%) say they turn to national newspapers such as The New York Times or USA Today for political news all the time or occasionally while the same number say they turn to weekly news magazines such as Newsweek or Time.
One’s generation does impact where one goes for political news. The oldest generations, Matures (those aged 63 and older) are much more likely to turn to their local television news all the time or occasionally (83%) while Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) are more likely to turn to cable television news (74%), local newspapers (74%) and network television news (73%). While one may expect the younger generations to be more likely to go to the websites of the various media, this is not the case. Baby Boomers are actually the generation most likely to use websites for national newspapers (40%) and the cable television networks (40%) all the time or occasionally.
There are also some partisan differences in where people go for political news, although not as many as one might think. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to turn to Cable television networks (76% versus 66%). Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to turn to national newspapers (33% versus 22%) and weekly news magazines (37% versus 19%).
So What?
This political year is one of firsts – first female candidate and first African American candidate to have a chance at the White House. Both of these have definitely increased interest in political news. While the Internet is the source of many a political story, it is not where Americans are going for their political news…at least not yet. When we get to the 2012 presidential race, the shape of the media will most likely be very, very different and the Internet may have become the top source for political news.
TABLE 1
TRUST IN MEDIA
“For each of the following institutions, please tell us if you tend to trust or not to trust it.”
Base: All adults
Tend to
trust
Tend not
to trust
Not
sure
Radio % 44 32 24
Internet news and information sites % 41 34 24
Television % 36 46 18
Press % 30 54 16
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding
TABLE 2
TRUST IN MEDIA – BY PARTY
“For each of the following institutions, please tell us if you tend to trust or not to trust it.”
Those saying tend to trust
Base: All adults
Total Political Party
Republican Democrat Independent
% % % %
Radio 44 45 51 39
Internet news and information sites 41 40 45 41
Television 36 31 50 28
Press 30 19 43 28
TABLE 3
POLITICAL NEWS SOURCES
“Thinking now of when you are looking for news on politics, whether about candidates or issues, how often do you go to each of these news sources?”
Base: All adults
All the time/
Occasionally
(NET)
All the
time
Occasionally Rarely/
Never
(NET)
Rarely Never Not
sure
% % % % % % %
Local television news 70 38 33 27 17 10 3
Cable TV news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX 66 28 38 31 18 13 3
Local newspapers 65 32 33 32 20 13 3
Network television news 64 27 37 33 21 13 3
Websites for national newspapers 36 10 26 60 28 32 4
Websites for the cable news stations 35 9 27 60 30 30 4
National newspapers like the NY Times or USA Today 28 7 21 68 32 36 4
Weekly news magazines, such as Newsweek or Time 28 6 22 68 32 36 4
Specific publications geared towards politics 22 4 18 73 31 42 6
TABLE 4
POLITICAL NEWS SOURCES – BY GENERATION AND PARTY
“Thinking now of when you are looking for news on politics, whether about candidates or issues, how often do you go to each of these news sources?”
Those saying “All the time/Occasionally”
Base: All adults
Total Generation Political Party
Echo
Boomers
(18-31)
Gen X
(32-43)
Baby
Boomers
(44-62)
Matures
(63+)
Rep. Dem. Ind.
% % % % % % % %
Local television news 70 50 69 79 83 74 74 70
Cable TV news stations like CNN, MSNBC or FOX 66 53 64 74 71 76 66 67
Local newspapers 65 49 60 74 78 68 69 67
Network television news 64 46 58 73 75 65 67 67
Websites for national newspapers 36 36 36 40 30 32 44 38
Websites for the cable news stations 35 30 38 40 32 38 38 38
National newspapers like the NY Times or USA Today 28 29 28 29 26 22 33 33
Weekly news magazines, such as Newsweek or Time 28 26 24 32 27 19 37 30
Specific publications geared towards politics 22 20 23 21 24 23 26 21
Methodology
This Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States January 15 and 22, 2008, among 2,302 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
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About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at
http://www.harrisinteractive.com. Harris Interactive is an independent, non-partisan research company and does not take part in political campaigning or primary predictions.
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at
http://www.harrispollonline.com.
Harris Interactive Inc. 3/08