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Three quarters of reporters use the web daily

Cyberspace 'has become woven into the fabric of modern journalism', according to the sixth annual Middleberg/Ross media in cyberspace study revealed this month.

The study shows that overall use of the internet and e-mail by journalists has mushroomed. Three-quarters of those surveyed said they now use the internet on a daily basis compared with just 48% last year.

But the survey, completed by around 400 magazine and newspaper editors, also revealed that many journalists doubt the credibility of main sites on the internet. Only trade association sites were rated as more credible than not credible. The most questionable content on the internet is found on message boards and chat rooms, according to the journalists who took part.

'Journalists are playing by new rules - developing story ideas online, reporting online rumours, and going to corporate and association web sites for information - especially when a story breaks,' said the CEO of Middleberg and Associates, co-organisers of the study with Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Other key findings show that:

• journalists are reading publications online more frequently with two-thirds doing so;
  
• many consider responding to readers via e-mail as part of the job with more than half doing so at least occasionally;
  
• journalists continue to spend more time on the internet with almost three out of four using it at least daily spending 4.7 hours on average online at home and 8.7 hours online at work each week; and,
  
• the majority now use the internet for the development of story ideas compared with just 30% for the past three years.
  

A booklet describing the findings is available free to journalists. For more details see the Middleberg website.

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