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The first Newsroom Barometer: Vast
Majority of Editors Optimistic About Future of
Newspapers
Two-thirds Say Opinion and Analysis Will Grow in Importance
The vast majority of newspaper editors world-wide are optimistic about the future of their newspapers, according to a new global survey that provides an insider's view to newsroom attitudes and strategies.
The "Newsroom Barometer," conducted by Zogby International for the Paris-based World Editors Forum and Reuters , found that 85 percent of editors are very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about the future of their newspapers.
The survey found that:
- 40 percent of editors believe on-line will be the most common way to read the news ten years from now;
- 35 percent believe print will reign supreme;
- two-thirds believe opinion and analysis pages will grow in importance;
- half are convinced that the quality of journalism will improve;
- half believe that shareholders and advertisers present threats to editorial independence.
For full details and commentary about the Newsroom Barometer's results, please consult the Editors Weblog's six-part analysis: Click here to view a Reuters' video presenting the Newsroom Barometer, featuring interviews with Bertrand Pecquerie, Director of WEF, George Brock, President of WEF, and Monique Villa, managing director of Reuters Media.
 
The survey of 435 editors-in-chief, deputy editors and other senior news executives from around the world, and of whom half are from Europe, provides a picture of an industry in transition, but one that is rapidly adapting to the new media environment.
"Eighty-five percent of senior news executives see a rosy future for their newspaper, and it's quite a surprise," said Bertrand Pecquerie, Director of the World Editors Forum (WEF), the organisation of the World Association of Newspapers that represents senior newsroom personnel.
"Editors recognize competition from online sources and free papers, and in turn are making efforts to adapt to 21st century readership," he said. "They know how to effectively make the transition to online journalism without reducing editorial quality. Editors-in-chief realise that content matters more than ever and cutting newsroom resources is not at all an effective solution: the reshaping of news will take place with journalists, rather than at their expense."
Monique Villa, Managing Director of Reuters Media said: "The Newsroom Barometer survey reveals an industry ready and willing to face dramatic change. Training journalists in new media skills has emerged as the most popular method for senior editors to increase editorial quality in their newsrooms, and 51 percent believe that the general quality of journalism will improve over the next decade."
“This optimism builds on deep changes in the way news is consumed. Many editors view news as a 'conversation' with readers rather than a 'lecture' from journalists, and the perceived increase in the importance of analysis and opinion pages shows newspaper editors realize that they must change their content offering in order to survive and prosper," Villa added.
The results of the Newsroom Barometer survey, released at a news conference at Reuters headquarters in London today, are contained in Trends in Newsrooms 2007, the annual WEF report on the latest editorial developments from around the world (http//:www.trends-in-newsrooms.org ). The Newsroom Barometer, a partnership among WEF, Zogby and Reuters, will be conducted annually to assess changes in attitudes and strategies in newsrooms around the world.
The survey found:
- An overwhelming number of respondents -- 85 percent -- say they are very optimistic or somewhat optimistic about the future of their newspaper. Even among newspapers whose circulation decreased over the past five years, 80 percent of respondents remain optimistic.
- Forty-percent of editors and news executives believe online will be the most common platform for news ten years into the future, while 35 percent believe in print's supremacy. One in ten say mobile devices will be the most common platform, while 7 percent cite e-paper. And two out of 10 respondents say it will be technologies that are still in the emerging stage.
- Half the respondents believe that journalistic quality will improve over the next 10 years, versus one-quarter who think it will worsen.
- Eight in ten respondents view online and new media as a welcome addition. Those with high volume web traffic -- more than 200,000 unique visitors per day -- are more likely to view new media positively, but the majority of editors at newspapers with modest traffic or no web sites also viewed new media positively.
- Three in ten respondents view free newspapers as a threat to the market, while the majority take a more benign view -- 34 percent view them as a welcome addition, and 28 percent consider them negligible. Smaller newspapers are more likely to see free papers as a threat than larger newspapers, perhaps because larger newspapers have the resources to fight off free paper competition, as well as produce their own free papers.
- Respondents are almost evenly split over whether they think that the majority of news, both print and online, will be free in the future.
- Three-quarters of respondents view the trends toward increased interactivity between news organisations and their readers as positive for quality journalism, while only 8 percent take the negative view.
- Fifty-four percent of editors think shareholders and advertisers pose the principal threat in the future to editorial independence of newspapers. Nineteen percent of respondents, mostly from the developing world, cite political pressure as the main threat.
- Two-thirds of respondents say that the number of opinion and analysis pages will increase in coming years.
- Training journalists in new media is cited most often by editors as a priority to increase editorial quality. Hiring more journalists is the second most frequently cited priority.
435 respondents participated in the Newsroom Barometer, which was conducted between October 8 and December 7, 2006.
Full details of the survey can be found at http://www.editorsweblog.org
The Paris-based World Editors Forum (http://www.worldeditorsforum.org) is the organisation of the World Association of Newspapers that represents editors-in-chief and other senior news executives. WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and ten regional and world-wide press groups.
About Reuters
Reuters is the world’s largest international news and financial information source, reaching over 1 billion people a day. Known for its speed, accuracy and independence, Reuters content powers newsrooms and financial markets around the world. Reuters distributes its text, data, pictures and video to professionals and direct to consumers via online and digital services. Founded in 1851, Reuters Group has 15,300 employees in 89 countries and had annual revenues of £2.4 billion/$4.4 billion in 2005. For more information and the latest news, visit www.reuters.com.
About Zogby
Zogby International is a public opinion, research, and business solutiions firm with experience operating in 65 countries around the globe. Led by founder John Zogby, President and CEO, Zogby International is known as a leading company with a reputation for uncanny accuracy and reliability that specializes in telephone, Internet, and face-to-face survey research and analysis for political, corporate, non-profit, and governmental clients. The firm is headquartered in Utica, New York, with offices in Washington D.C. and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
Reuters Inquiries: Sophie Brendel, Head of PR – Editorial & Media, Reuters. Phone: +44 207 542 0496. E-mail: sophie.brendel@reuters.com
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