the future of news and journalism in social media
DESCRIPTION
The future of news and journalism - a data analysis of over 64,000 thousand URLs shared by over 8,000 political influencers on Twitter. It examines traditional news media brands vs. new citizen journalism and newcomers to the news mix. It explains the way content formats and niche content is challenging traditional journalism and looks to the future of how we access and consume news in the Twitter era.TRANSCRIPT
Tweetminster : relevant content and data filtered by networks of experts
Hello
I’m @Killdozer from @Tweetminster
What are we going to find out?
1: News media journalism is still the biggest single shared type of content, but not the majority of news consumed
2: News brands get more URLs shared, but have a lower average share per URL than other news sources
3: Interactive content, data and video is more sharable than traditional journalism suggesting an appetite for breaking news formats, back story tools and participation
4: Comparative spends for SEO & marketing show News Media get a lower ROE than Newcomers
5: To get maximum reach, journalists must engage with data, communities, video, mobile and live polling – diverse content is the future of news
Methodology
Our sample:8,000 big names from the following news influencer categories (MPs, Gov Depts, local councilors, party activists, govt. appointees and NGOs)
We ranked:64,831 shared news links tweeted between 1st August 2011-31st Jan 2012.
Averages: 10,805 shares per month from the top 150 news articles per month (900 in total)Approx. 10% of total media stories tweeted (Amplifier CTR for Twitter posts )
Definitions:News Media = Newspapers, TV channels, news agenciesNewcomers = Bloggers, Curation, Downloads, Ex-blogs, Organisations
Month by month results…
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan0
20
40
60
80
100
120
News MediaOthers
News Media vs. Others in top 150 (Sources)
News Media accounts for approximately 15-30% more of the most shared URLs amongst political influencers.
Reasons:
1. They produce more content2. They cover wider subject areas3. They have the brand position & bigger name
contributors
The attention mix as total shares (URLs)
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
SharesNews MediaOthers
In terms of the total number of shares, News Media tracks with overall volume, Newcomers occupy a smaller but more consistent volume
Reasons:
1. News Media has more content opportunities (breadth)
2. News Media has more breaking news coverage3. News Media resources more flexible (they can cover
more physical events globally on demand)
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
News MediaOthers
Average shares per URL
The likelihood of a URL getting shared is pretty much even between News Media and Newcomers
Reasons:
1. Quality content ultimately determines sharing2. Newcomers represent more sharable types of
content in the content mix3. Newcomers punch above their weight relative to
volume
The top 150
6 Month Top 150 Content Mix
News Media
BlogsLive BlogDataVideoJournalism
Traditional written journalism accounts for majority of News Media output
Reasons:
1. Legacy systems / institutional inertia2. Being behind the curve with adopting new formats
doesn’t make them more competitive3. Difficult relationships around distribution rights and
social ID ownership for journos
6 Month Top 150 Content Mix
Newcomers
CurationBlogsDataDownloadsEventsInteractiveJournalismPetitionsVideo
Newcomers are widely diverse, combining journalism with interactivity, polling, data, campaigning and curation
Reasons:
1. Diversity of organisations2. Single issue focus and greater numbers (unlike News
Media which is a smaller community)3. Appetite for consumption favours diversity – like the
news itself
The future of news?
6 Month Top 150 shared URLs
Sources Actual Shares
Average Shares per URL
News Media Newcomers
The trend is consumption favours Newcomers over News Media
Reasons:
1. News Media produces too much content (overload)2. Newcomers offer user benefits (curation,
specialisation, verticals, authenticity, new formats)3. Newcomers more agile, better social engagement
strategies, lower risk if experiments fail
Thanks
If you want to talk or get the raw data, I’m @killdozer