Traditional Media Still Trumps Blogosphere in Reporting New Information

Shannon Sweetser
Shannon Sweetser

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There is something of a struggle going on between the blogosphere and traditional news these days. As more and more traditional media outlets begin to close shop or at the very least, close their doors to only those who are willing to pay, many people are questioning if the blogosphere will take over as the leader in news creation.  

A recent study titled "How News Happens" by the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism examined which sources shared the most “new” information within a week.  The study discovered that most of the news people consumed by the city of Baltimore contained no original reporting. The study also found that 95% of previously unreported stories came from traditional news sources, specifically print and television media, rather than blogs, Twitter, or local websites.


Not surprisingly, the study also discovered that the Web was always first to publish any breaking news story, while the blogosphere, Twitter, and local websites also played a major role in spreading new content more quickly.

How to Use Your Business Blog to Break More News

Why are blogs not breaking as many “news” stories as traditional media? Well, for one, anyone can start a blog - whether they're a journalist or not. Secondly, many blogs are 1 or 2 man operations that have limited time and resources, making it difficult to flush out news stories that require a lot of outside coordination.

As for the claims that many blogs merely “recycle” news content, I can tell you from experience that news-driven posts are easier to craft because responding to something complete like a published news story is easier than building an entire story from scratch.  While these posts may not require any additional reporting, they also can be very successful and insightful, especially when coupled with an original take away for your prospect. 

However, the most successful blog posts on the HubSpot blog are the ones that provide some kind of hard-to-find data or breaking news. These posts are extremely valuable, but admittedly take time and resources that aren’t available to many who blog.

This study got me thinking about the role that a business blog can play in producing more original news content. Often times, businesses have more resources and access to tools than the average blogger. These are advantages that can be very helpful in reporting new content. If you’re wondering how your business blog can be a better originator of news content, here are a few tips:

Blog About Company Data and News More Regularly.

If you’re spending a lot money and time crafting press releases to send out on the wire with little result, consider putting that time and energy into creating another version of your press release on your blog, too. When you integrating your blogging strategy in with your press release strategy you not only benefit from extra love from search engines, but it also may inspire people to link to your site pages instead of the press release online.

Use Social Media to Spread Your News More Quickly

Social media has the ability to spread news more quickly to influential bloggers and reporters than a PR wire. Work on building out your social media presence on Twitter and Facebook. A recent HubSpot study found that businesses that blog have 102% more Twitter followers, so there is clearly a relationship between creating original content and the likelihood that people will want to follow you and share your posts on Twitter.

Invite People in Your Industry to Send You News

Your company is in a better position than anyone else to unearth breaking news stories about your industry. What may not seem like news to you, may be news to your prospective customer. Turn to people in your industry and company and ask them to send you potential news tidbits for your blog. That’s how we found out about the Fortune 500 CEO who found Outbound Marketing tactics to be “annoying.”

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Blogging is an extremely powerful way to share news and information about your company as well as promote thought leadership and connect with other thought leaders.  News content is only one type of content that a business blog can share, but if I’m reading the research correctly, there is a huge opportunity for business blogs to step up and not just comment on the news, but be the source of news too.

photo by the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism

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