Blogs: The New Trusted News Source?
The difficulties faced by the print media industry are well-known and oft-reported. Newspapers are becoming more and more of a 20th century relic, as the news consuming public devours stories on their kindles, smartphones and ipads without newsprint smudges on their fingers.
Flickr: @Doug88888
Broadcast media too has faced difficulty in the modern market. Declining viewing figures make it tough to sell advertising space, and ITV’s recent money woes are testament to what happens when the viewing public find a new glowing box to view for their news. The brands themselves are surviving, mostly though leveraging their status as reliable and trusted news providers to gain online viewers and subscribers. But is the power of the traditional news brand diminishing?
News media has traditionally been delivered to the masses by a handful of content providers over a few mediums. Understandable cynicism about editorial agendas aside, there were always a few news providers that could be trusted to deliver “just the facts ma’am”.
We live in an age where the Huffington Post competes squarely with the Washington Post in terms of readership and content, but we are also bombarded with user-generated content of quality that can kindly be referred to as variable. Many journalists have turned to blogging in addition to updates and articles on news websites and traditional media. Is this a requirement of their “day job”? A hobby? Or a necessity in a world where blogging could just threaten to usurp the old guard in journalism?
The BBC is consistently touted as the most trusted news source available. 47% of all news consumed is a product of the BBC, and their unique status and ownership is often an indicator of popularity. The BBC’s submission to Ofcom’s media plurality review in January speaks volumes of its reputation. The statistics are highly tipped in the BBC’s favour, with over 59% of respondents to a MORI poll (a leading market research company) reporting the BBC as the news source they trust the most. The second most trusted was ITV news – but their second place status was secured with a mere 7% of respondents. (The full document is available here.)
flickr: nicholasjbriscoe
Former journalist and respected media commentator Iain Hepburn has long been an advocate of new media, and followers of his False Doorway blog (now part of The Drum magazine) have long enjoyed his thoughts on the state of journalism. The original blog is now, sadly, no longer being updated, but the archive is still available. I asked Iain for his thoughts on where blogging sits as a trusted news medium:
“There’s clearly value to having a big or trusted name online, even in these days of niche publishing and curated content. Even a cursory glance at the ABCs shows how popular the big name sites remain – the BBC, the Mail and the Guardian all boast audience numbers which are, frankly, astonishing. But they attract those audiences because of the value of the journalism they conduct and the loyalty that engenders.
A lot of it is down to the time taken to actually verify stories and do proper journalism – as we’ve seen recently, it only takes a couple of dodgy retweets for a hoax to spread like wildfire on digital platforms.”
Flickr: HambugCam
More and more people are turning to news blogs for content, opinions and editorial. Since 2010, even the Associated Press has regarded blogs as a “credible source” for their stories. Some blogs have been lauded with critical praise for their in-depth and well-researched coverage of niche topics. For example:
- the Sheridan Trial Blog – which earned author James Doleman a Scottish Press Award nomination in 2011, and
- the Rangers Tax Case Blog – which highlighted the extent to which the finances at the Glasgow club were in turmoil, and became the go-to source for updates.
The trust these and other blogs earned was a response to the excellent journalism on display. Whether published on an independent blog or by one of the big media names, content really is king. Trusted news sources became trusted because of the quality and impartiality of the content. Weak blogs will wither, just as weak content on traditional media will too. And that has to be good news for us as consumers of news.
But could blogs take over? Iain Hepburn’s belief is that blogs “need time to find that audience relationship. As they do, they’ll compliment and sit alongside the bigger names, and perhaps sooner rather than later overtake them.” I can’t say I disagree.
With thanks to Iain Hepburn for his contribution.
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