Taking A Look at the 2023 State of the Media Report

By: Ginny Dunn

Companies are the key source for the newsrooms, but press offices must guarantee data, accuracy and credibility. 

The Cision 2023 State of the Media Report surveyed over 3,000 journalists for insight into their challenges, their evolution amid technology, and what this means for potential partners. The leading concerns of journalists were accuracy and maintaining credibility as a trusted news source. This is especially true with the rise of ChatGPT and other AI devices. 

40% of journalists say they are relying more on data this year than in previous ones. Not only data but the majority of journalists stated that they rely on their partnerships with public relations professionals to provide this data. When asked what communications professionals could do to make their jobs easier, 66% of journalists said providing data and expert sources. As the need for accurate data is increasing, this can be what makes your message more valuable than others. 

Ensuring content is accurate was named the top priority by journalists (58%). 27% of journalists stated that their biggest challenge is maintaining credibility as a trusted source. When asked about future generations of journalists, many of the responses focused on reducing bias and separating fact from opinion. 

When looking to build a relationship with the media it is important to understand that press releases are the number one source for generating content (35%), followed by industry experts (18%) and major wires (14%). When building a press release it is important to consider validating this release with quotes or testimonials from industry experts and getting this kind of information to major wires to increase the value of information you are providing to journalists. 

Another important factor to be considered is multimedia. The types of multimedia that journalists prefer include high resolution images (77%), videos (44%), data visualization and graphics (43%), and web polls and surveys (34%). As PR Professionals it is important to pitch ideas in creative and unique ways. 

These findings display the opportunity for journalists and communications professionals to create important, trust-based relationships. They also reinforce the critical need for PR and communications professionals to be diligent when providing trusted, accurate and relevant content for journalists. 

With all of this information in mind there is still the struggle of finding a balance between trying to shape the narrative and forgoing control. It is important to understand that the journalist has the final say in how your brand is presented. That is why it’s important to focus on the balance of relationship building. The more you invest in building a relationship with journalists the more you can trust journalists to describe the narrative you want to reinforce.