Survey findings released today from Ogilvy Media Influence's first-ever global survey of over 200 reporters and editors found that 72% of respondents agree that traditional media outlets are the most trusted news sources.

Carried out by Ogilvy Media Influence team members in 23 offices across North America, APAC and EMEA, the survey uncovered the growing importance of new platforms [54%] in managing newsrooms today.

"Our survey showed how the emergence of new platforms is the biggest trend effecting newsrooms, as consumers are increasingly reading news on apps, and social media platforms," said Jennifer Risi, managing director, Ogilvy Media Influence and Head of Media Relations.  "The source of a news story still matters, especially in North America and EMEA, where traditional media outlets remain the most trusted. It will be key for PR professionals to adapt to new platforms (such as Snapchat) and find new ways to reach consumers in the places where they live and work."

The 2016 global survey also found that nearly three quarters of journalists highlighted traditional media channels as the most trusted over paid, direct-to-consumer and social channels. The survey found that the more a brand is covered by traditional media channels, the more credible the brand appears to its key stakeholders [52%]. Additional findings include:

° Social media is the most influential in APAC [38%] with traditional media reigning supreme in North America and EMEA [74%].

° Earned media [37%] is a leading channel for driving influence; Social media is hot on the heels of traditional media [28%].

° A majority of journalists [40%] agree that in order to be a successful journalist in today's media landscape, journalists should have influence across multiple platforms.

"Social media has gone from being a channel that distributes the news, to one that informs it, with 50% of surveyed journalists saying that they use social media as a source for the stories they will cover. However, we also found that stories covered in traditional media outlets were seen as more influential, underlining the importance of traditional media relations for making brands matter," said Risi.

The Ogilvy Media Influence team fielded a seven question survey of over 200 media outlets across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. The survey assessed sentiment and focused on the opinions of reporters, editors and producers covering a variety of topics including national news, business and financial news as well as consumer trends, technology, entertainment, politics, healthcare and the Hispanic community. 

The survey was conducted by phone and email by Ogilvy Media Influence team members based in 23 offices across the globe in June 2016. For more information go to http://tinyurl.com/j8eq88w .