What Austrian Journalists seek in Social Media

In their latest survey the Center for Journalism and Communication Management at Danube University in Krems (Austria) interviewed female journalists on their professional Social Media usage and its impact on their daily business. Over a period of one month 298 Austrian journal-ists answered 21 open and closed questions to three main aspects of the topic mentioned above. Journalists state that Social Media still become even more important to their working life, altough they are weighing up advantages and risks carefully. The results also show the ambivalence: on the one hand inspiration, cultivation of one’s image and contacts or quick investigation can be seen as positive aspects of Social Media, on the other hand they foster pressure of time and competition or loss in quality with regard to contents. Besides, data secu-rity issues and lack of practical experience are main reasons when deciding to use Social Media or not.