by Terry Marsh

Created on: May 12, 2009

Established news organizations have long explored using emerging trends to broaden their consumer base. From news reels at movie theaters, to broadcasting podcasts, news companies always find ways to tap into different media outlets. Today, as internet technologies create new avenues for entertaining and informing a public increasingly spending more time online, news organizations must discover ways to use new media and social networks to reach them.

Understanding the News Industry

The news industry provides a relevant and essential service to the public. But news is a competitive business, with news agencies dependent upon reaching large numbers of consumers in order to increase market share. News organizations lure advertisers through ratings, and advertising dollars allow them to earn the revenue to fund their operations and hopefully, increase profits.

As more people turn to the Internet to access news and information, news organizations realize that they must create a stronger presence there to attract a wider audience. No longer can established news companies rely on consumers to tune into their broadcasts or buy their papers. To reach a greater audience, they must now go to where people are. Tapping into the powerful resource of social network sites allows news agencies to increase their reach, targeting wider audiences while minimizing expenses.

Why Social Network Websites

According to The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, the internet has now surpassed newspapers as the second most popular source for news and information. And though 70% of the Pew Center survey respondents still cited television as their main source for news, that number is rapidly falling. But, as for people under the age of 3o, 60% of them get their news from online sources instead of television. These numbers represent a growing and consistent shift from newspapers and television news, to the internet.

As newspaper and television consumers decline, social networking sites are booming. TechCrunch.com reports that social network monsters MySpace and Facebook "are each attracting around 115 million people to their respective sites each month." Twitter's growth has been even more astounding, with a 131% increase in unique visitors between March and April 2009. These numbers translate into an already available market for news, giving social network users the ability to connect immediately to breaking stories, or simply monitor news stories without leaving their favorite

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