A new study by Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism investigated news sources in Baltimore to study the changing nature of news media - the rise of blogs and websites, the decline of traditional newspapers. They found 95% of new stories came from traditional media (print, tv, radio, and niche media [e.g. trade press] - including the websites of these organisations) and only 5% from new media (blogs, twitter, websites). The web was the place where stories broke, both from traditional and new media.
On 6 major news stories studied in depth, 83% of all reports were repetitions of other stories without new information. Mainstream newspapers generated 48% of new information, TV 28%, and new media 4%. In the areas covered in detail, 63% of new stories came from government officials (mainly the police) while 15% were initiated by the press, 12% from citizens, and 10% from colleges/universities. They found numerous instances of press releases being reproduced word-for-word in news stories.
Many people in the blogosphere believe that bloggers can take the place of newspapers. There is some way to go. The researchers found just two news stories that originated from new media: one a posting on the police's twitter feed, and one by an investigative blogger who found a story about local government plans to put listening devices on public transport. Maybe we need more bloggers?
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