State Of Journalism 2022

The State of Journalism2022Social media habits, reporting strategies,PR pitching preferences and moreA STUDY BY

Research partners2

About this surveyWE SURVEYED 2,547 JOURNALISTS FROM JANUARY 4th to JANUARY 25th, 2022. Role: 64% are full-time journalists, editorial writers or bloggers, 19% are full-time freelance journalists and 12%create journalistic content but supplement their income with other work. Of the 5% that listed ‘Other,’ write inresponses included editorial functions such as editor, blogger and producer. Experience: 32% have been a journalist for 20 years. 25% have been a journalist for 10-20 years. 21% have 6-10years experience, while 5% have 1-2 years experience. Finally, 1% have under 1 year of journalistic experience. Medium: 74% of journalists primarily report in online formats. Of those, 41% report online (with a print edition) and33% report online (with no print edition). From the respondents who selected 'other,’ the most common formatwas print with online editions. Most journalists surveyed produce content in at least one additional mediummonthly. Beat: The average journalist covers 4 beats (this is up from last year’s 3 beats). The most popular industriescovered by survey respondents are Politics, Government and Legal, Arts and Culture, Business and Finance,Energy and Environment and Education.See extended audience breakdown in Section 4.3

Executive Summary Fewer journalists agree that the way companies share information isoutdated—44% this year vs. 61% last year, indicating that companiesare stepping up the way they share information.The average journalist covers 4 beats. Last year, the averagejournalist covered 3 beats.Most journalists surveyed create content in at least one medium inaddition to their primary medium. Online (38%), print (25%) newsletter(17%) and podcast (15%) were the top additional mediums.For the third year in a row, 58% of journalists are optimistic abouttheir profession.Fewer journalists said that CEOs and company PR pros are crediblesources for reporting. However, more journalists find social mediapersonalities (17% vs. 12% last year) and celebrity spokespeople (14%vs. 12% last year) more credible than they did last year.4

1Social media,news consumptionand reporting5

83% say theirwork has beenaffected byCOVID-19How has economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19pandemic affected your work?More stories about COVID-19 and/or health and wellness61%More stories about remote work and/or virtual communicationThat’s a decrease from last year’s86%.34%Layoffs/furloughs at my outlet(s) have increased my workloadThe number of journalists coveringmore stories about the pandemicand/or health and wellness has alsodecreased slightly from last year’s65%.21%COVID-19 has not affected my reporting17%Less news to cover as companies postpone new releases17%More stories about the Great Resignation15%Personal layoff(s) have meant less work in general14%

For the third yearin a row, 58% ofjournalists areoptimistic abouttheir professionAre you optimistic about the journalism 2%-42%-42%201920202021202250%0%-50%-100%Source: The State of Journalism 2019, 2020 and 2021

OptimisticJournalists coveringFashion & beauty,Religion are themost optimistic65% of journalists covering Religionand 64% of journalists coveringFashion & beauty are optimistic abouttheir profession.On the other hand, the mostpessimistic groups are Weather (48%)and Crime (46%).PessimisticAgriculture59%41%Art & culture58%42%Automotive59%41%Business & finance58%42%Crime54%46%Education58%42%Energy & environment57%43%Entertainment58%42%Fashion & beauty64%36%Food & dining60%40%Health & wellness62%38%Politics & ce57%43%Sports55%45%Tech & telecomm.58%42%Travel61%39%Weather52%48%

Around a third ofjournalists sayaudience trust intheir coverage hasincreasedDo you feel that your audience’s trust in coverage of yourarea of journalism has increased or decreased in the past year?47%50%32%25%0%-25%-22%-50%IncreasedIt’s the sameDecreased

IncreasedHealth & wellness,Agriculture andReligion said trustincreased the most39% of journalists covering Health &wellness, Agriculture and Religionsaid that audience trust in thecoverage of these industriesincreased.Journalists covering Weather andRegional/Local said audience trustdecreased (29% and 28%respectively).DecreasedIt’s the sameAgriculture39%25%36%Art & culture31%23%47%Automotive35%21%43%Business & ergy & environment34%22%44%Entertainment31%22%47%Fashion & beauty33%23%44%Food & dining32%19%48%Health & wellness39%22%39%Politics & %42%Science34%24%42%Sports32%27%41%Tech & telecomm.36%24%40%Travel30%21%49%Weather31%29%40%

In general, where do you go first for your news?Most journaliststurn to onlinenewspapers orTwitter first fornews57% of journalists get their newsfrom online newspapers ormagazines, down from 58% in2021. 18% get their news fromTwitter (up from 16% last year).Online newspapers and magazines57%Twitter18%Print newspapers or magazines7%TV/cable news4%Other (please specify)3%Radio3%Facebook2%Other social media platforms1%Podcasts1%LinkedIn0%TikTok0%

More journalistsvalue Twitter,LinkedIn,Instagram, Redditand TikTokWhat social network is most valuable to youas a d to last year, morejournalists value Twitter (77% vs.76%), LinkedIn (24% vs. 23%),Instagram (18% vs. 15%), Reddit(9% vs. 7%) and TikTok (4% vs. 1%

Journalists plan to spend more time on Twitter,LinkedIn and YouTube this yearDo you expect to spend more or less time on the following social networks this okReddit8%17%2%TwitterMoreLinkedInNo differenceYouTubeLessInstagramSnapchatI don’t use this platform and don’t plan to use it this year13

60% of journalistsconsult a companyʼssocial media in theirreportingWhen reporting on a company,I consult the company’s social mediaStronglyagree14%Stronglydisagree 8%Disagree7%Compared to 2021, more journalistsconsult with a company’s socialmedia: 60% this year vs. 58% lastyear.Agree 46%Neitheragree nordisagree25%

More journalists aretracking coverageon social mediathis yearLast year, 62% of journalists saidthey track how many times theirstories were shared on socialmedia—this year, 64% do.Do you track how many times yourstories are shared on social media?No 36%Yes 64%

What makes a story jectconnected toa trendingstoryContainsan image orinfographicExclusive and/orsurprising dataEasilylocalized/maderelevant to yourtarget audienceContainsa videoBrevityInvolves arelevant socialmedia influencerQuotes froma companyspokesperson16

2Event coveragein 202217

53% of journalistsplan to attendmore in-personevents in 2022Compared to 2021, do you plan on attendingmore or fewer in-person events in 2022?More 53%The same 33%Fewer 14%

Sports, Fashion &beauty and Politics& governmentjournalistswill cover moreeventsTech & telecommunications andAutomotive had the highestnumber of journalists that saidthey’d attend fewer events.Compared to 2021, do you plan onattending more or fewer in-person events in 2022?MoreFewerThe sameAgriculture47%Art & culture52%Automotive52%19%Business & y & environment46%16%38%Entertainment49%16%35%Fashion & beauty55%Food & dining49%Health & wellness48%Politics & 6%17%37%Sports56%Tech & 8%

46% of journalistssay an event goingvirtual doesnʼtaffect theirlikelihood ofcovering itHow likely are you to cover a virtual event in 2022?More likely tocover a virtualevent 34%Less likely tocover a virtualevent 21%An event going virtualdoesn’t affect my likelihoodof covering it 46%

Sports and Food &dining journalistsare less likely tocover virtual eventsThose who said they’re more likelyto cover virtual events include Tech& telecommunications, Science,Health & wellness and Energy &environment.How likely are you to cover a virtual event in 2022?MoreFewerThe sameAgriculture35%18%47%Art & culture35%21%44%Automotive35%23%Business & y & environment38%18%44%Entertainment38%21%41%Fashion & beauty32%23%46%Food & dining28%27%45%Health & wellness38%Politics & ience38%18%Sports31%26%Tech & 7%45%18%47%44%43%21%41%

62% of journalistsprefer Zoom forvirtual eventsWhat platform do you prefer to use for virtual events?Corporate YouTube9%Zoom62%Other (please specify)9%

Top 10 events journalists plan to cover in 20221. UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)2. World Economic Forum3. World Conference on Climate Change and Sustainability4. TED5. Comic-Con6. SXSW7. Government Social Media Conference8. E39. Future of Finance10. TechCrunch Disrupt

3Media relations:pitchingpreferencesand more24

44% of journalistsagree or stronglyagree that the waycompanies shareinformation isoutdatedThe way most companies share information withthe media is outdatedStrongly agree14%This marks a significant decreasefrom last year, when 61% ofjournalists agreed or stronglyagreed.AgreeThe jump indicates that companiesare stepping up the methods theyuse to share information.Strongly disagreeThose that agreed said companiesare not tech-savvy and/orinformation is not validated.30%Disagree54%1%

Strongly agreeJournalists coveringTech & telecommsmost likely to agreethat the waycompanies shareinformation isoutdatedAutomotive (58%), followed by Food& Dining (57%) and Health &Wellness (57%) are the most likelyto disagree.AgreeDisagreeStrongly disagreeAgriculture10%32%55%Art & culture13%30%56%1%Automotive12%30%58%1%Business & 2%2%Energy & ion & beauty18%26%55%1%Food & dining13%29%57%1%Health & wellness13%28%57%2%Politics & h & %1%3%

60% of journalistssay theirrelationship withPR pros is mutuallybeneficialDo you generally see your relationship with PRteams and people at PR agencies as:A partnership8%This year, more journalists call theirrelationship with PR pros a partnership(8%) vs. last year (6%).Mutually beneficial, but not quite a partnership60%Antagonistic, but not inherently a bad thingFewer say the relationship isantagonistic (16% vs. 18% last year)and fewer say it’s a necessary evil (16%vs. 17% last year).16%A necessary evil16%

59% of journalistsare just as likely torespond to pitchesas last yearCompared to a year ago, I am:More likely to respond to pitchesThere was an uptick in the % ofjournalists who are more likely torespond: 23% this year vs. 22%last year.23%Less likely to respond to pitches18%Just as likely to respond to pitchesFewer say they’re less likely torespond: 18% this year vs. 22%last year.59%

More likelyJournalists coveringReligion, Fashion &beauty more likelyto respond topitchesJournalists covering Automotivehad the highest % of those whosay they’re less likely to respondto pitches.Less likelyJust as likelyAgriculture25%19%56%Art & culture25%15%60%Automotive16%23%60%Business & ergy & Environment23%22%55%Entertainment24%15%60%Fashion & beauty27%15%58%Food & dining20%16%64%Health & wellness26%18%57%Politics & %58%Science22%21%57%Sports26%14%60%Tech & telecomm.21%21%58%Travel24%17%59%Weather23%22%55%

Poorly timed andimpersonal pitcheswill still get ignoredWhy do you immediately reject otherwise relevant pitches?Bad timingSimilar to last year, bad timing wasthe leading reason for journalistsrejecting pitches (24%), followed bylack of personalization (22%).Under ‘Other’ numerous journalistssaid they will reject irrelevant,off-topic, not localized and/orpoorly written pitches.24%Lack of personalization22%Confusing subject line15%Too lengthy13%Large attachments3%Other (please specify)23%

1:1 email still #1for pitching, 5%hate phone pitchesa little lessOn which channels do you prefer to be pitched(Select all that apply)100%1:1 email remains the top channel PRpros use to pitch journalists.94%50%17%Interestingly, more journalists saythey prefer phone pitches: 15% thisyear vs. 10% last year.Under “Other,” Whatsapp was apopular write-in 100%1:1 works(e.g. Facebook,LinkedIn)Other(pleasespecify)

Most journalistswant to receivepitches early in thework weekOn what day of the week do you prefer to receive pitches?(Please rank from 1-7, with 1 being your most preferred day)123MONTUEWED4THU5FRI6SAT7SUN32