Business News Web Logs: Content Analysis and Survey

BUSINESS NEWS WEB LOGS: CONTENT ANALYSIS AND SURVEY
January-February 2007
Research Summary

Commissioned by the
Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism

www.BusinessJournalism.org

CONTENT ANALYSIS

SAMPLE SIZE:

Researchers analyzed a random sample from the nation's 1,400 daily newspapers in search of blogging activity on business issues. One hundred publications were randomly chosen to be examined as part of the sample. Of those, 98 had web sites. Researchers also analyzed the web sites of the nation's 50 largest newspapers as determined by circulation size. Five web-only business sites were also analyzed. Collectively, they identified 127 business blogs at these media outlets.

METHODOLOGY:

The larger content analysis sample was generated using newspapers identified by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Researchers visited each of the randomly chosen newspaper web sites in mid-February 2007 and searched for the word "blog" on the site's home page and on the business section front to determine if the newspaper offered blogs. Blogs were monitored over an eight-week period to determine frequency of postings. Researchers examined reader comments over a two-week period.

KEY FINDINGS:

• In the random sample, only five of the newspapers analyzed had business-related blogs Based on these findings, we can assume no more than about 130 – or less than 10 percent -- of newspaper websites currently offer business-related blogs out of the 1,400 daily newspapers nationwide.
• A review of the nation's top 50 newspapers revealed more than three-quarters offered business-related blogs. Thirty-eight newspapers had at least one business-related blog.
• Nearly half of large papers offered two or more business blogs.
• All the large papers offered blogs, even if none were on business-related topics.
• Of the five web-only business sites, only four offered blogs.
• The median number of business blog postings was about three per week.
• Of the 127 business blogs collectively identified, about one-third posted fewer than 8 items during the eight-week study period.
• Some business blogs posted hundreds of items during the study period but that was more likely to happen at larger publications such as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
• Blog postings tended to be shorter than print stories. The median number of paragraphs in blog postings was five.
• Reader comments to blogs averaged about 9 over a two-week period, though a few of the most popular blogs generated more than 1,000 reader comments over a two-week period.
• More than three quarters of the 127 individual blogs analyzed were written by fulltime staff of the respective publication. The remainder were written by syndicated business journalists. A handful were written by unpaid volunteers.
• No discernible pattern could be found on the most popular business blogging topics. Topics varied broadly, from technology to real estate to local companies to housing and airlines.

SURVEY

OVERALL RESPONSE:

Surveys were emailed to 103 persons identified as business bloggers in the content analysis. A total of 44 responses from business bloggers were received. The 43 percent response rate is less than needed to generalize the findings. However, clears patterns emerged from the responses.

METHODOLOGY:

The online survey consisted of 30 questions about their blogging practices and experiences. The survey was emailed to bloggers via Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com), an online polling service and invited bloggers were given several opportunities to respond.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Three-fourths of respondents started blogging since the beginning of 2006
• Five out of six business bloggers are full-time business reporters or columnists
• Most business bloggers do not receive additional compensation for their blogs; only two respondents receive additional pay
• Half of respondents proposed their blog; the other half were assigned by editors
• Most are given no firm guidelines about how their blogs should be conducted
• A third are given general targets for number of postings; the rest post when they feel like it
• Blog topics cover all business subjects (Small business, real estate, stock market, personal finance, taxation, economy, etc.)
• Some are narrowly focused blogs, like coverage of business travel or a major local employer
• Most common blog topic is technology, either consumer or business side.
• Most business bloggers focus on local topics
• A handful expand scope to cover national business issues
• None of the respondents consider international business their main focus
• More than half say they never blog about international business issues
• Relatively few business bloggers do live postings from the scene of an event
• Those who do live postings most often use laptop computers, though some use PDAs like the Blackberry
• A majority of business bloggers agree with these positives about blogging:

-"The blog is a good place for small items that normally wouldn't make the paper."

-"I can interact more closely with readers."

-"I can get breaking news to readers more quickly."

-"I can explore topics I normally wouldn't cover."

• Many business bloggers agree with these negatives about blogging:

-"Doing the blog takes away my time for reporting."

-"Far fewer readers see my blog postings than read my printed stories."

• Business bloggers are concerned about how much their work is read. Asked how many readers post comments:

-A third of bloggers said "None"

-About half said "1-5 comments"

-Only 16 percent receive more than 6.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. Large papers have been the early adopters of business blogging, although a small scattering of small- and mid-size newspapers are experimenting with business blogs.

• Only five newspapers in the sample of 100 newspapers had business blogs and two of those newspapers had reader circulations of less than 25,000.
• While almost one-third of all U.S. daily newspapers offer blogs of some sort, fewer than 10 percent provide blogs on business-related topics.

2. The frequency of blog postings vary greatly, with the more prolific postings found at the larger newspapers.

• During an eight-week period, the median number of postings was 22, a rate of about three per week.
• Fifteen of the business blogs studied posted more than 100 updates during the period. At the other extreme, 38 blogs posted less than 8 updates during the study period.

3. Reader comments to business blogs remain low, although the most popular blog sites can receive tremendous reader traffic.

• Politics and sports remain more popular topics for getting reader response, although some tightly focused business blogs are gaining a strong following.
• The biggest unanswered question about business blogs is whether they are worth the effort being put into them when it comes to readership. Clearly at some of the larger publications, they are well received. But it is a very uneven response, especially at small- and mid-size publications.

Research was carried out by Professor Stephen K. Doig, Knight Chair in Journalism at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He was assisted by graduate assistant Sonu Munshi

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More than 5,000 working journalists have taken part in the daylong workshops and online seminars of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism over the past three and a half years. It has been headquartered at the Cronkite School since July 1.

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Copyright © 2007 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism