Media practitioners rely on blogs rather than Facebook

This may be good news for news bloggers, at least for now.

According to a survey conducted by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and a public relations company, Intelecasia , blogs are the most popular among media practitioners in search of alternative views concerning a certain issue.

 Some 68 per cent of 442 journalists and editors from 27 media organisations who took part in this survey said they read more than three times or quite frequently news posted in blogs. The objective of the survey was to identify the preferred mode of communications among media practitioners in Malaysia.

The use of Facebook and YouTube is still low despite the fact that the social networking websites are becoming more and more popular among the general public.

Only 37.8 per cent of the 442 respondents said they use Facebook for professional purposes, while 50.4 per cent of the respondents said they do not use YouTube on regular basis.

The survey also found that half of the respondents had never used Twitter for their assignments, whether in finding news sources or receiving media invites.

Read the Bernama news posted on the Malay Mail website on 13 November 2010:
Use of Facebook, Youtube among media practitioners still low

and NST 12 November 2010:

Use of FB, YouTube among media practitioners still low

However the survey did not mention why blogs were more preferred than social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

In the West, media practitioners make full use of not only blogs, but also social networking websites in search of alternative views and opinions on certain issues.

The situation here is different, where facts and discussions posted on social media sites are still in question.

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