PR Newswire’s APAC Survey Reveals Content Quality is the Top Priority for Journalists

This year’s report was PR Newswire’s largest ever in the region, surveying nearly 1,000 journalists and media professionals across nine key markets – Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. To help international businesses better understand the diverse APAC media landscape, our Audience Development team has also compiled a list of the top ten business media^[1] in each of these nine markets.

Despite readership metrics becoming more readily available, 25% of journalists indicate that content quality is their top key performance indicator (KPI), followed by number of original news stories, e.g. X stories per week, and social media engagement, such as social media shares of content.

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This survey found that a verified news source is more valuable than ever. For example, 73% of journalists in mainland China believe that news accuracy is their top consideration when assessing the value of a story. Press releases remain the most trusted source of information with over twice as many journalists from the majority of APAC markets (eight key markets, not including mainland China) trusting official press releases (27%) over social media channels (10%). Results also show an increase of 5 percentage points for trust in press releases compared to 22% in 2016-2017.

Verified news sources play an important role as journalists craft their stories. When seeking a quote for their stories, journalists from the majority of APAC markets are most likely to turn to personal business contacts (60%), followed by press releases (51%).

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Other key takeaways from the report include:

• High-resolution photographs (29%) are the most preferred multimedia element in news coverage by journalists from the majority of APAC markets, with 25% preferring video, followed by infographics (21%).
• Journalists are keen to enhance their skillsets to create quality content. Relative to our last survey in 2016-2017, journalists across the APAC region indicate a higher demand for training on in-depth reporting and interviewing skills.
• Multilingual communication is critical for businesses going global. Journalists in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore responded to this survey in multiple languages while close to 100% of journalists in mainland China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam responded in their predominant domestic language, reflecting the preferences of their audiences.

“For businesses operating globally, enhancing brand awareness and reputation are important tasks where media coverage plays a critical role,” said Lynn Liu, Director of Audience Development and Distribution Services. “In the APAC region, it is vital that international businesses understand the shifting media landscape and local journalists’ preferences to become even more valuable media partners. PR Newswire is committed to help businesses tell their stories in this diverse and dynamic region.”

PR Newswire looks forward to discussing the key findings of this survey at our upcoming Media Coffee events.

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