Where business leaders get their information

The most reliable source of business news is still the newspapers, right? Is that where you as CEO want to see your company mentioned? Well, it’s no longer that clear cut. Increasingly even our conservative business readers are looking to the internet. 

Public Relations practitioners should note the below survey (poll) by Roy Morgan. It is an analysis of which outlets/fora are considered the most reliable sources of business news and it’s divided up into attitudes amongst:

The big companies ($50m+); Medium sized ($5-50m); Small sized ($1-5m); Micro (<$1m)

In short the big companies still consider traditional media the most reliable source of business news; but if you are reaching out to small businesses, newspapers are not the place to be seen.

If you want to be seen by a cross section of business people, the internet and newspapers are about line ball, for now. 

What does it suggest in terms of trends?  It reinforces the advice we are offering: if you want to be seen now by the big end of town, you still aim for the AFR or the business section of The Australian. But increasingly you should be aiming for an Online profile and a Social Media profile. People are increasingly expecting to see you there and while this includes traditional media outlets (either online or offline) it also include blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube  - whatever channels make you comfortable. 

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Roy Morgan’s Report

The Internet is the media channel considered the most reliable source for business news by the majority of Australian businesses.¹  National newspapers rank second followed by television according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey — a nationwide survey of 13,381 businesses.

Analysis by business size, however, shows that both Large and Medium sized businesses clearly consider the most reliable source of business news to be Newspapers (combining national and metropolitan newspapers). For Small businesses, internet and newspapers rank quite evenly. It is only Micro businesses (of which there are overwhelmingly the greatest numbers) that consider the Internet to be the most reliable source.

Most Reliable Source of Business News — All businesses

Source: Roy Morgan Business Single Source Survey, 12 months to June 2011, n = 13,381.
¹Business size classified by annual turnover: Large – $50 million or more, Medium – $5 to under $50 million, Small – $1 to under $5 million, Micro — less than $1 million

It is noteworthy that perceptions of business news reliability for the other media channels — newspapers, magazines, television and radio — differ among each of the four business segments.

Both Large and Medium sized businesses rank national newspapers most highly in terms of reliability for business news, with the internet ranking second.  In fact, the absolute majority (51%) of large businesses consider newspapers (either national or metropolitan) to be the most reliable business news source.

Source: Roy Morgan Business Single Source Survey, 12 months to June 2011, n = 13,381.

Although newspapers are the dominant source of business news for both Large and Medium businesses, the internet dominates for businesses overall due to the fact that – in terms of sheer numbers – Micro businesses make up 89% of Australian businesses.

For both Small and Micro businesses the internet ranks highest as most reliable source for business news.  National newspapers rank second followed by free to air television, across both segments.

Note that for Small businesses the combination of national and metropolitan newspapers slightly outranks the internet.

Source: Roy Morgan Business Single Source Survey, 12 months to June 2011, n = 13,381.

The survey indicates a marked difference in the perceptions of television and radio as the most reliable sources for business news.  For example, whilst 11% of Micro businesses consider radio the most reliable source for business news, only 3% of Large businesses share this same perception.

Similarly, 16% of Micro businesses consider free-to-air television the most reliable business news source, compared to 10% of Large businesses who share that opinion.