Citizen Journalists Not Ready to Replace Traditional Media: Pew Report
by Matt on Mar 14, 2010 in Industry
With hyperlocal news still in its infancy, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a new study out tonight says citizen journalism web sites aren’t ready to replace traditional media just yet. That’s one of the conclusions in the very comprehensive “State of the Media” report issued by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.
The report admits that “citizen journalism at the local level is expanding rapidly and brimming with innovation,” but says that funding isn’t being pumped into citizen journalism at the same rate that traditional media are losing money and resources. As for local blogs and news sites comparing to traditional media, here’s what the report says:
“…citizen media at this point still are not in a position to replace or provide the same type of coverage as traditional outlets. They just don’t have the resources to do so. New research conducted by a team of academics finds that some top citizen news sites average less than one new story a day.”
In general, I’ve no doubt that’s true. But I don’t think anyone should read that and take it to mean that there’s no good, real, substantial, and legitimate journalism being produced by citizen journalists online. There is, and I think we all sense citizen media will continue to improve over time.
Click through for some interesting stats and charts from the study about hyperlocal news sites/blogs.
The study asked online news consumers what sources they use on a typical day, and this chart shows where “individual blogger” ranks.
One interesting stat was that only 35% of people surveyed said they have a favorite place to get news. In other words, most people aren’t loyal to a single news site and rely on multiple sources for news. Of those 35% with a favorite, blogs ranked in the bottom half. (Again, not a surprise.)
And one last chart to share: What do online news consumers look for? What topics do they typically research on the web? As it turns out, a lot of the things people explore have a strong local element to them. Here’s that chart, and I’ve starred the items with local implications.
So, if the first two charts and the quotes earlier in this post had you down … cheer up. Look at all that local content people are wanting to find online. That, folks, is the definition of opportunity. Keep on doing what you’re doing, and next time there’s a “State of the Media” survey, I’m betting those first two charts will look different and better for local news sites and citizen reporters on the web.
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3 Responses to “Citizen Journalists Not Ready to Replace Traditional Media: Pew Report”
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Interesting report. I suspect that if the question was “what’s your favorite place to get LOCAL news” (as opposed to general news), blogs would have scored higher. Same for other niches.
But I find it a bit discouraging that only 51% of respondents are looking for local news as opposed to the 75% who look for national events. I wonder if that’s because for many there is little information published about their local communities? It would be interesting to know if the number was higher in places that get good local coverage (i.e., build it and they will come).
I think you’re on to something in both cases, Susan — especially the second part. I think in a lot of places, the town needs to be educated and marketed to so they’re even aware that hyperlocal news and information exists in their area.
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