Communications in the changing media environment

A new research report by The Rosen Group that sampled American readers’ about their use of traditional print media versus digital formats confirms what publishers nationwide well know, that “there is a strong shift to online news consumption.”

But, there is a twist here, and it is an important one; this outcome is with respect to consumers’ desire for breaking news.

• 30% of respondents say web sites are the top sources for news updates.
• 66% say Web sites are among their daily news sources.

By contrast, among the same sampling,

• 80% subscribe to magazines; and
• 65 percent find weekly news magazines relevant.

Even though the numbers are somewhat ambiguous, they confirm what we have long believed is obvious: Not everyone is good at everything.

Therefore, we think the implications for corporate communications suggest a careful examination of what media you are using to communicate with your diverse stakeholder audiences, as well as what corporate subjects are focused where. As Orwell noted, "All of the animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

Here’s our take on the meaning of this research for business communicators:

• Unquestionably digital media is growing in importance and influence. This is especially the case for breaking news. From a corporate perspective this means, product announcements, financial releases, tactical aspects of your strategic focus need to pay close attention to your digital contacts.
• At the same time, don’t be excessively fearful of “citizen journalists,” such as bloggers, because “60% of respondents believe the information on blogs is not credible.”
• While developing a healthy relationships with digital editors, don’t minimize the attention you pay to daily newspaper journalists, and especially to editors of the “long lead books” [magazines that publish once or twice a month] as well as the weekly publications.

Not surprisingly, in an increasingly costly and competitive media world, discrete areas of expertise will win out.

• In this environment where keeping abreast of fast breaking, rapidly changing information is essential, the natural leaders are going to be digital information providers. These will be stand-alone Web publications as well as the digital adjuncts of print media.
• When a broader focus requiring more in-depth and thoughtful trend reporting is appropriate, [and time sensitivity is less of an issue] the traditional print format will rise to the surface. Again, this is likely to be a digital extension of an analog brand.
• A third, and sometimes overlooked, facet of the corporate media mix are the specialized local print media, sometimes referred to as the “neighborhood newspaper.” We opine that they will survive, and therefore should be included as credible avenues to your stakeholders, too. [Everyone has to live in a "neighborhood."] As the late U.S. House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O’Neal was fond of saying, “All politics is local,” and we believe corporations are very political animals, whether they like it or not.

To a large degree this media environment is not much different than the one in which corporate communicators have always work. It will continue to require timely, consistent and accurate information dissemination — three communications values that will be more critical than ever.

Your can read the full Rosen Group here.