Ink-Stained Wretches Take to Social Media

Image by the tartanpodcast via Flickr

Whether curiosity or necessity is the motivating force, traditional journalists are being drawn to social media tools like, well, everyone else.

According to a survey of  341 journalists by a nonprofit think tank, the Society for New Communications Research ("SNCR"), nearly 70 percent of journalists questioned said they routinely use social networking sites, a 28 percent increase over the results of SNCR's initial poll in 2008.  Forty-eight percent of the journalists queried said they use Twitter or other microblogging sites, a 25 percent jump over 2008 poll findings, and 25 percent confessed to listening to podcasts.

Nearly 80 percent of the journalists participating in the survey believe bloggers have become important shapers of public opinion.  Thanks for noticing.

SNCR will present a web briefing of their findings on Feb. 25, and will publish their research in SNCR's Journal of New Communications Research later this month.