We love our blog and maybe journalists will love it too! According to a new survey of US journalists by Brodeur (a unit of Omnicom Group), new media (defined as social media and blogs) are having a big impact on the speed and availability of news to journalists.

The survey finds that the majority of journalists report that blogs are having a significant impact in almost all areas of reporting with the exception of news quality. Moreover, the survey found that 61.8 percent of journalists believe blogs are “having a significant impact on the ‘tone’” of news and 51.1 percent believe blogs influence the ‘editorial direction’ of news reporting.

Other findings in the survey:

• Over three-quarters of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, story angles, and insight into a tone of an issue
• Nearly 70 percent of reporters check a blog list on a regular basis
• More journalists are actively participating in the blogosphere: One in four reporters report having their own blog and approximately 16 percent have a social networking page
• Almost 48 percent of reporters say they are “lurkers” on blogs – reading but rarely commenting

We have a saying in our public relations department: media relations means ALL media. As the popularity of blogs increase among journalists, it is important that companies that maintain a blog understand the types of information that can enhance ongoing marketing and external communications efforts. This is particularly important in the b-to-b space.

PR tip of the day: Update your blog! It will boost your company’s search engine ranking (put in relevant links) and keep you in front of an ever-growing media audience.