What's happening with the news

Each year the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism publishes a report on the state of the news media.

Last week Amy Mitchell, deputy director for the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, highlighted features of the report at the IABC Washington chapter meeting. Here are a few key points:

1. Primary news source no longer exists.

People are “news grazers.” According to the report, 92% of users get their news from multiple platforms. Readers go to multiple places throughout the day. They are not aimless wanderers, however. They have some direction. Most people go to 2 to 5 different sites. Approximately 35% have a favorite site. Most favorite sites are for the weather, news, or job-related.

2. News is search-based.

Consumers search for their news: 56% get their news from aggregators or portals. Only 6% get their news from Twitter. Consumers of news search by story rather than brand. The search for news can end with Google search results.

3. New content is generated by old media.

According to the report 92% of new content in one U.S. city came from old media. Stories originate in the old media and go forth on many new platforms. There is less control over where the product goes.

Communicators need to recognize how the landscape of media has changed. Look here for more posts on this topic. Later this week I am going to New York for the media summit on international reporting organized by InterAction.