By Keith W. Rabin

NEW YORK -- Many corporations and government agencies have begun to include web sites and other new media vehicles in their outreach programs. However, in their rush to go on-line, many have not paid adequate attention as to how these vehicles will be utilized by the media and other key audiences.

While substantial research has been done to determine consumer demographics and to explore the potential market for goods and services over the web, there does not appear to be any studies that analyze how the media and decision-makers utilize the internet and new media vehicles to develop coverage and to gather necessary information.

To begin exploring these issues, we recently conducted a survey on behalf of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). This grew out of an outreach effort to deliver the Japanese perspective on a variety of trade issues to local, major and trade media, decision makers and other relevant entities on the grassroots level.

HOW DOES THE MEDIA ACCESS INFORMATION?

After producing a series of newsletters targeting over 3000 U.S. journalists and decision-makers, we became interested in exploring ways in which we could utilize the new media to more efficiently disseminate information. For example, are journalists open to receiving materials by e-mail? Do smaller publications have internet access? Which features of the internet do they find most useful and what types of information are they seeking? What are the preferred methods of receiving solicited and unsolicited information? How do journalists locate new web sites and how many do they visit over the course of a month? Additionally, does having to register and use a password discourage visitors from accessing a web site?

SURVEY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

To explore these issues, we faxed a list of 12 questions to more than 700 organizations from our newsletter and general media lists. To assess the correlation between a prospect's technical knowledge and their incentive to respond, 100 high-tech and telecom journalists were also contacted. We received a 6% response from the general list and a 3% response from the high-tech list. This would appear to indicate a prospect's potential interest, rather than their existing knowledge or current usage, was the most important factor in motivating responses.

Forty-five responses were received from 4 radio stations, 3 national radio syndicators, 10 magazines, 4 television stations, 2 wire services, 18 newspapers and 4 business executives and consultants. Following a review of the data, ten individuals were contacted for more in-depth telephone interviews.

SMALLER ORGANIZATIONS PROVED MORE RESPONSIVE AND COMMITTED

In assembling our prospect lists, we biased our selection toward mid-sized publications, e.g. newspapers with circulations over 100,000. We thought these publications would have the most interest and were therefore surprised that the 18 newspapers who responded had an average circulation of 46,000. Only two had 100,000+ circulations and four had circulations under 20,000. Additionally, smaller newspapers demonstrated a surprising sophistication and a propensity to utilize new media vehicles.

Larger publications, either due to lack of time, interest or commitment, appeared far less apt to utilize new media. Of the three responses received which indicated the respondents did not have an e-mail address, one came from a wire service and another from one of the two newspapers with 100,000+ circulations.

The other wire service noted they did have an e-mail address for their newsroom, but that correspondents did not have individual addresses, making the use of e-mail difficult to manage. It was also stated they were about two years away from moving beyond their current "closed universe" to an open PC-based network which would offer individual access to the internet from their desktop.

HOW DOES THIS INFORMATION EFFECT SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN?

While smaller media appeared to be ahead of larger publications, their needs were far more specialized and they tend to rely upon the wire services and national syndicators for national and international coverage.

Philip Van Hulle, Editor of the Macomb Daily in Macomb, MI noted, "Stories must have a local angle or we rely on the wires. If local firms or investors are involved, we become interested. Sometimes, while exploring web sites, we forward an e-mail asking -- can you provide us with information on how this effects Southeast Michigan?"

NEW MEDIA WILL TRANSFORM THE WAY MEDIA ACCESSES INFORMATION

Almost all the respondents we interviewed were convinced the new media will transform the way journalists access information.

John Clemens, Vice President and News Director of the USA Network, syndicates radio programming to 1,387 affiliates around the world. In discussing how the internet is transforming journalism, he stated "When inexpensive internet-dedicated terminals begin appearing on the market, we see real competition ahead for the wires. The internet has begun to radically change the way we do business. Last night one of our talk show hosts needed information on the Nobel Prize. We quickly downloaded over 25 pages of information, far more than we could use."

EXCESS INFORMATION REQUIRES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRIOR RELATIONSHIP

Respondents were highly sensitive to becoming buried under unwanted and unnecessary information. Two major newspapers on our list had even transformed their fax lines to 1-900 telephone numbers, requiring an expense of several dollars to provide them with releases and other press materials.

Of the 45 respondents to our survey, 95% indicated they had an e-mail address. 55% indicated they receive source data by e-mail, however, only 51% would provide us with their address.

Peter Hamlett, Account Manager at WVOC-AM in Columbia, SC noted, "I am reluctant to sign up for newsgroups as I have been barraged too many times with vast quantities of e-mail. On the other hand, solicited deliveries have proved very helpful in developing our programming."

Expressing similar concern, Jennifer Murawski, Assistant Editor of Trade & Culture Magazine remarked, "Traditional press releases tend to pile up on my desk, but e-mail gets almost immediate attention. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, I prefer making contact by traditional means and then requesting the option of e-mail delivery."

80% OF RESPONDENTS ACCESS INTERNET AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

52% of respondents indicated they access the internet on a daily basis. 27% indicated weekly access, 3% monthly, 8% rarely and 10% never. Follow-up conversations with respondents revealed a high level of interest and a belief in the ultimate viability of new media, but many complained of long waits to access and to download information, software "bugs", and that their organizations had not yet invested in the equipment and technology necessary to facilitate effective information delivery.

Several journalists noted they were forced to access the internet at home, rather than in the office where, as one respondent noted "We have one terminal for a staff of twenty."

MANY INTERNET FEATURES FOUND USEFUL

When asked on a scale of 1-10 to rate the internet features they found most useful, the responses were far from uniform. Search ability, at 9.1, was rated the most useful feature, followed by the web itself, at 8.8. Both of these responses showed below-average deviations of less than 2. The usefulness of e- mail received the third highest ranking (8.5). While positive, the ability to download files (6.5) ranked fourth, showing a substantial deviation (3.4).

Opinion toward newsgroups (5.5), FTP-sites (4.5) and the ability to order publications (4) was divided, with large (3+) deviations, demonstrating the polarity among respondents answering this question.

Bulletin Boards (3.6) and On-Line Conferences (2.4) were not considered to be particularly useful, however follow-up conversations revealed most respondents based their disinterest on the general lack of programming and awareness of how these vehicles can be utilized. As technology advances, and software programs such as Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange grow in popularity, more organizations may begin to host interactive applications, and these vehicles may come to provide valuable feedback and offer tremendous potential to organizations who wish to use these vehicles to conduct research and to test new concepts and messages.

INFORMATION NEEDS MORE DIVERSE, WITH HIGHER RELATIVE DEVIATION

When asked on a scale of 1-10 to rate the type of information they usually seek from the internet, we were again surprised by the wide range of responses. No response exhibited a mean exceeding 7.5, and all registered high deviations ranging between 2.4 to 3.5.

News releases and speeches registered the second lowest mean (5.3) exceeded only by photos and graphics (3.8). Text files (5.5) and contact information (5.7) proved slightly more popular, exceeded by general background (6.4), corporate information (6.5), news coverage (6.5), economic statistics (6.6) and archive data (6.8). E-mail proved the most popular (7.4), followed by research reports (7.3).

OVER 80% OF RESPONDENTS VIEWED MORE THAN FIVE WEB SITES DURING THE PAST MONTH

When asked how many different web sites they had visited over the past month, 17% indicated 1-5, 17% from 5-10, 29% from 10-25, 17% from 25-50, 9% over 50 and 11% more than 100.

Search engines were by far the most popular method of locating new web sites, exhibiting a mean of 8.8 and the lowest deviation of any question in the survey (1.5). The second most popular method was links (6.9). followed by announcements and releases (6.4), advertisements (5.6), new web site lists (5.6), editorial pieces (5.5) and internal leads (5.2).

FAXES ARE PREFERRED METHOD OF RECIEVING SOLICITED INFORMATION

Journalists preferred faxed delivery of solicited information by a wide margin, exhibiting a mean of 8.6 and the lowest deviation of any response to this question (2.1). Indicating that effective delivery of press materials by e-mail and the web is still premature, traditional mail (7.3) ranked above e-mail (7), followed by the telephone (6.6) and the web itself (5.2).

MAIL IS PERFERRED METHOD OF RECEIVING UNSOLICITED INFORMATION

Responses regarding the receipt of unsolicited information were more divergent, with mail proving the most popular (7.6) with a deviation of 2.6. Faxed delivery ranked second (7), followed by e-mail (5.2), telephone (4.5) and the web (3.8).

Technical issues clearly influenced these preferences. One reporter noted "While e-mail is preferrable in theory, we often have a hard time downloading files, especially those containing elaborate formatting or graphics."

RESPONDENTS DIVIDED ON NEED TO REGISTER FOR WEB-SITE ACCESS

To monitor and control access, many web sites require visitors to register by name and to obtain a password. When asked on a scale of 1- 10 whether having to regiser would discourage them from visiting a web site, there was no clear answer. Of 35 responses received, the mean was 5, with a high deviation of 3.2 Follow-up interviews revealed many journalists found this to be an annoyance.

Dave Alexander, Business Editor of the Muskegon Chronicle of Muskegon, MI noted "I have over 100 bookmarks on my computer and it is difficult to remember passwords, particularly when they are assigned, rather than self generated. Many of these sites were originally accessed by colleagues, meaning I have to reregister or remember under whose name the account was originated. While I would like to say this does not discourage me, I am often on deadline and cannot take time to deal with it."

When asked to identify the web sites they had found to be most helpful, more than one dozen were identified. Most were sponsored by other publications or government agencies that release statistical data. During telephone interviews, many provided additional names of organizations and corporations who have web sites designed to promote their own institutional agenda.

JETRO WEB-SITE REVIEWED

We were quite pleased to find one publication that had recently written a positive review of our client's web site. Trade & Culture Magazine noted the JETRO site (www. jetro.go.jp) as "...an excellent place to begin networking" for Japan- oriented information.

NEW MEDIA SHOULD BE VIEWED AS ONE ELEMENT WITHIN A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM

The internet may well be the wave of the future, transforming the way journalists and others come to access information. However, it is critical for organizations to realize the importance of treating the new media as a valuable tool, that complements, rather than replaces, traditional dissemination methods. The time has not arrived when traditional methods of communications outreach can be ignored in favor of e-mail, the web and other new media vehicles.

Additionally, it is important to view new media as a dissemination tool, rather than as a substitute for program content and creative thinking. Marshall McLuhan aside, the "new media is not the message", and in the rush to go on-line, it is critical not to lose sight of the need to incorporate new media vehicles within a well-planned, comprehensive communications program.

In the end, there is no substitute to engaging in the development of an on-going programmatic framework which effectively matches client concerns with strategic messages designed to advance the institutional objectives of the client organization.

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Keith W. Rabin is the President of KWR International, a research, public relations and consulting firm specializing in the design and implementation of public affairs, trade and investment development programs for a diverse range of corporate and public sector clients. Mr. Rabin can be reached at kwrintl@kwrintl.com, tel, & fax 212-799-4294 or fax 212-799-0517.

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Copyright 1996 by Japan External Trade Organization. All rights reserved. Unlimited permission is granted to reproduce contents in whole or part providing credit is included noting authorship, and a copy of how contents were utilized is forwarded to KWR International.