TopRank ran a survey of journalists, reporters and editors on their use of search and social media in 2008; they found that 91% use search engines like Google to do their job and 64% use social networks. Published in Jan 2010, a George Washington University and Cision survey of journalists reported that 89% use blogs and 65% use social networks to research their stories.

Newsrooms seem to be cutting staff and reporters and editors are hard pressed to do more with less. Tools like search engines and social media make available a tremendous amount of information in real-time. The news world is a world of deadlines and it seems that the use of search and social networks to source experts or people/companies which fit a story angle would be perfect. Even respected news organizations like the BBC encourage their journalists to embrace social media.

This kind of insight is helpful in understanding how companies can make their news content more easily discovered via social web participation, content and optimization.
According to TV News Reporter Jason DeRusha:

“Private business does a horrible job cataloging their expertise in a manner that’s search engine friendly. This is a real opportunity, as journalists become much more crunched for time, and use search as quick way to identify local experts.”

I know that I start every day with my favored search engine. It doesn’t make a difference what story I’m working on, it always starts with Search.
Often times, you will find that the use of search engines and social media sites intersect.

LinkedIn is a very good place to mine client-side folks.

This quote from news anchor Chris O ‘Connell sums it up nicely:

“social networking has changed the way we do business and how we are able to get news and sources faster when deadlines matter.”

Does your company incorporate news optimization as part of their online marketing and content strategy? Do they optimize and promote news content differently than marketing content? Do they track whether the media finds your content via search or social media?

Some things to keep in mind…