In this report, we are providing new information regarding the effectiveness of news releases on scientific, medical, business and liberal arts research. For the first time, we're presenting evidence of a trend for reporting news across many institutions and media outlets.
We're also providing new information about Newswise and the quantified effectiveness of its delivery process. Throughout its eleven-year history, Newswise has been the leader in providing innovative, online media relations services and objective, quantitative data about the effectiveness of our service. In the beginning this was done via quarterly, and then monthly, reports on hit counts. In this report, we are taking a big step forward and reporting on the appearance in the media of research news provided by participating institution.
Method:
Beginning with research news releases contributed to Newswise for the one-month period between Nov 11, 2002 and Dec 10, 2002, we investigated whether the releases resulted in stories in the media. From mid-December to mid-January, we searched for clips resulting from those news releases on Google News, a new searchable portal of current news published in many major media outlets.
The objective was to determine the number of releases that generated clips in the media via a standard mechanism, not to determine the total volume of media coverage. We used Google News as a way of skimming the coverage, and while it was not comprehensive, it was adequate for this purpose.
We only reported clips for which Newswise might have had some responsibility, i.e. the story was bylined by a journalist who subscribes to Newswise wires, or appeared in a media outlet at which Newswise has subscribing reporters and/or editors. Furthermore, the article appeared in the media outlet subsequent to appearing on Newswise.
We did not search for clips for feature stories, tip sheets, announcements, or policy news releases. We will discuss feature stories at a later time.
Results:
Searching Google News, we found clips for 97% (67 of 69) of research releases contributed to Newswise before the embargo date. We found clips for 83% (158 of 191) of all research stories contributed to Newswise.
In addition, when we asked our clients about their own clippings, most reported finding clips by other methods. For the 33 research news releases stories for which we did not find clips, we surveyed the 21 contributing institutions. Of these, 17 replied, and reported finding clips for 14 of the releases and finding no clips for 11 news releases. Consequently, more thorough searching revealed that at least 90% (172 of 191) of the research releases resulted in clips in media outlets to which Newswise delivered the release.
Success occurred across all categories (Sci, Med, Biz or Life) of research stories; the 191 research stories were distributed over the four libraries in the following way:
| Library |
# of releases |
# with clips |
% |
| Biz |
6 |
6 |
(100 ) |
| Life |
35 |
24 |
( 69 ) |
| Med |
105 |
90 |
( 86 ) |
| Sci |
45 |
38 |
( 84 ) |
We show here some examples of your releases with links to their related clippings. For some links, e.g. the New York Times, you must be registered to see the clip. In this case, registration is free, so we encourage you to register.
We found clips in a total of 200 media outlets with Newswise subscribers using Google News. Twenty-four of these media outlets regularly and frequently use Newswise material. Here you can see a list of these publications. This is not comprehensive; others regularly use the material, but cannot be searched via Google News. |
We also correlated hit counts to clippings for a news release. Stories with clips had an average hit count of 273 (ranged from 89 to 1857) compared to an average hit count of 222 (ranged from 91 to 422) for news releases for which we found no clips.
Conclusion:
We are not claiming to be the only source for these clips. The reporters who wrote these stories may have received them via multiple faxes, mailings, direct email, and competing services. However, in most cases, the article was written by a reporter who subscribes to Newswise. In some cases, there is no byline, but that media outlet had multiple subscribers.
We hope these results are helpful to you. This study shows that delivery may be a determining factor, if certain minimal criteria (such as a reporter reviewing the release before the embargo date) are met. If you deliver a solid research story in the right way to the right people, it will be used and you can find and measure the results. |
Relating to the Media
Newswise wire recipients are journalists whose relationships with us have each evolved individually; some of these relationships span more than a decade, but each of them is based on respect, professionalism, and an important trust: that Newswise will continue to exercise high editorial standards, deliver timely, newsworthy and knowledge-based content efficiently, and empower our users with the technology to enhance its usefulness.
Thus institutions who value Newswise as a partner in their media relations efforts have chosen more than our electronic distribution network-- they have chosen our human one, an established network with trusted journalists and news organizations around the globe. It's a relationship that belies, after all, the virtual instantaneity of the internet age-- for it has been forged from over a decade of responsive, real-life interaction with journalists and media professionals.
But let's let our users speak for themselves...
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