Cision’s 2024 State of the Media Report: Journalists Battle Misinformation, Embrace Data, and Seek PR Partnership Cision (PRNewsfoto/Cision Ltd.)

The findings underscore the ways in which public relations professionals can reach positive media outcomes faster by providing journalists targeted, well-researched stories that are relevant to their audiences.

Some Key Findings from the Report:

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of journalists value press releases as their preferred content to receive from PR professionals.
• 42% of journalists reported their biggest challenge of 2024 as maintaining credibility as a trusted news source.
• Despite industry-buzz on AI, fewer than half of the journalists participating in the study use AI regularly.
• Multimedia assets (images, data visualizations, and videos) are being leveraged by the media more than ever, with 87% of journalists using those supplied with pitches and stories.
• Facebook is experiencing a resurgence, with journalists naming it one of the top three platforms for increased activity.

15 Years of Identifying Trends in Media

This year’s report marks a milestone for Cision and the media industry. What began in 2009 as a relatively small, joint study with George Washington University, has grown into a trusted industry bellwether. The report shines a light on the ever-changing media landscape with the goal of helping PR professionals establish deeper connections and improve outcomes with journalists worldwide.

“Over 15 years’ worth of data consistently shows the value journalists place on their relationships with public relations professionals. Every year, we gain deeper insights into how PR leaders can build even stronger media partnerships.” said Carrie Parker, Chief Marketing Officer at Cision. “Journalists, like media relations professionals, are facing many challenges and industry-wide shifts including learning to navigate new technologies like generative AI and understanding evolving media behaviors. This year’s State of the Media report reveals key opportunities for PR and comms professionals to be the trusted partners that journalists need in today’s rapidly changing landscape.”

Access the full 2024 State of the Media Report here.

Register for our webinar on June 13 at 10:00 am ET where we’ll be digging into the report and what it means for PR and corporate communications professionals, by clicking here.

Methodology

Cision conducted its 2024 State of the Media survey in January and February of 2024. Surveys were emailed to Cision Media Database members, who are vetted by the company’s media research team to verify their positions as media professionals, influencers, and bloggers, and to the members of our Connectively community. We also made the survey available to media professionals in the PR Newswire for Journalists database.