Third-Annual Survey Highlights Growing Usage of Press Materials And Wire-Service Content In College Journalism
CLIFTON, N.J.--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jun 20, 2002--Collegiate Presswire, the leading electronic distributor of press materials and marketing information to the nation`s college media, today announced the results of its third annual survey of college editors to discern their preferences regarding press materials and publicity. In addition to illustrating how student editors prefer to receive and use press releases, the data also shows a growing verbatim usage of Collegiate Presswire’s news, compared to data from previous years.
The positive results, which highlight the editors’ use of e-mail and online services, help solidify the leading position Collegiate Presswire holds in the student media press-distribution industry. The survey was conducted at the National College Media Convention, held in the late Fall of 2001 in New Orleans, and was comprised of respondents including editors, writers, advisers and student media administrators.
The first question in the Collegiate Presswire 2002 Editorial Survey asked student journalists how they prefer to receive press releases. Tossing aside the fax machine and letter opener, respondents overwhelmingly chose e-mail as their preferred method of delivery, with 67 percent of respondents selecting it. Their second choice, with a significantly lower number of selections, was the 15 percent of respondents who prefer to receive press materials by fax. Releases read online and sent by U.S. mail checked in at third and fourth place, respectively. The most significant gain in this category was the number of editors who selected email as their preferred distribution medium – a jump of 8 percent year-over-year.
Student editors, much like their professional counterparts, also prefer to receive press materials early in the week to allow for deadlines and writing time. Approximately 52 percent of respondents chose Monday as their preferred day to receive materials, marking a 41 percent gain for that selection year-over-year. Once again, Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be the least popular days, with only 6 percent of respondents selecting them – very similar to last year’s results.
America’s student editors are particularly interested in two topics, according to the survey. Some 75 percent of those surveyed prefer arts and entertainment-related press releases most, while 65 percent choose career-related news and press materials as their favorite. Although the number of entertainment selections declined year-over-year by 7 percent, that selection is still the most popular with student journalists. The number of careers selections jumped by more than 30 percent in the same year-over-year period.
The Internet plays a key role in the news-gathering process, the survey once again revealed. Regarding electronic delivery of press materials, 88 percent of those surveyed stated they would use photos or graphics – if appropriate – from an online news service such as Collegiate Presswire. This represents a 10 percent gain, year-over-year, partly due to Collegiate Presswire’s introduction of CPFoto this year, an electronic photo-distribution wire for the college media.
Student editors use press releases in a variety of ways. While a clear majority of respondents, 79 percent, chose to turn them into stories for their paper, some 46 percent answered that they use them for reference or supplemental information. A smaller group choose to run press releases verbatim – according to 29 percent of respondents. The most significant year-over-year gains were a 16 percent increase in the number of editors who turn press releases into stories, and a larger (70 percent) gain in the number of editors who reprint press releases verbatim in their newspaper.
“For the third year running, we are very encouraged by these survey results,” said Lisa Bannerot, Director of Media Services for Collegiate Presswire. “Judging by the year-to-year gains and increased awareness of our services, this data illustrates that our electronic press distribution service is a vital tool used by the student media. It’s clear that America’s student journalists look to Collegiate Presswire each day as their complete source for high-quality press materials for publication.”
The full survey results are available, in slideshow format, on Collegiate Presswire’s Web site at http://www.cpwire.com/survey.
ABOUT COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE
Collegiate Presswire is the leading electronic distributor of press materials and marketing information to the nation`s college media. The service distributes press releases, news flashes and media alerts from companies and organizations to a proprietary nationwide network of more than 775 college newspapers and select, leading education trade-publications via e-mail, fax and the Internet on a daily basis. The Collegiate Presswire news-feed is syndicated daily to many top sites across the Web by ScreamingMedia, and distributed in real-time to key news-industry databases and information systems by COMTEX News Network. Founded in 1998, Collegiate Presswire Inc. is based in Clifton, NJ. The Company can be reached online at http://www.cpwire.com or toll-free at (888) 621-7721.
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