As many as 93% of the world’s journalists regularly search for information in online corporate newsrooms; 29% do that on a daily basis, according to a January 2019 survey by TEKGROUP.

Not long ago, we were getting the news exclusively in newspapers, radio or television, and were the ones who made the decision on how and which information to provide. With the advancement of modern technology, there are now many various channels available to us at all times, offering us almost endless range of content in various forms. This is why we often run into contradictory claims, which, in turn, cast doubt on the credibility of the resources. As a result, an increasing number of interested publics, including a large number of journalists, are turning directly to the source of information. The latter is confirmed by the results of a survey conducted by TEKGROUP among journalists worldwide in 2019 – as many as 93% of respondents indicated that they regularly search for information in online corporate newsrooms – 29% do that on a daily basis.

The trend of corporate newsrooms on the rise abroad

IT advanced companies, multinationals, non-governmental organizations or state bodies (hereinafter: organizations) have recognized the problem of information abundance constantly surrounding us, so we have recently noticed a new trend abroad – the establishment of online corporate newsrooms. These are set up in the form of an online portals that gather all the news and information related to certain organization. The key role of such a newsroom is to provide accurate information about the organization and thus to present the organization as a transparent, accessible, and above all a competent partner.

The lightness of content and journalistic approach to presentation

The content on these portals is no longer just a compilation of past dry news and dull annual reports, but reminds of lifestyle news stories presented in an interesting and simple way. A good reference example is the Microsoft portal. Although only news related to this tech giant is published there, it is interesting for the general public as well due to the fresh approach, making the news more attractive to all journalists on their hunt for new content. The increasing popularity of corporate newsrooms is also compounded by the fact that the news published is basically ready for a “continued use” and aesthetic photographs or videos are added.

It is unobtrusive multimedia content in the broadest sense, far from generic advertisements or monotonous press releases.

Recently, however, another significant “shift” has taken place – until recently, such sites were targeting only journalists, business partners and potential investors, but are now becoming more and more interesting to the general public interested in topics related to a particular organization. It is very important that the corporate newsroom is taken care of by a central team that communicates strategic content on the portal using the journalistic mind-set and high editorial standards. It is therefore more like objective journalistic reporting than a jargon-full corporate communication.

Present the contacts using their photos and relevant references too

It is important that all public relevant contacts of the corporate editorial board are fully listed. Often, contact information is provided with a photo, short CV and references of the contact person as the organization demonstrates its transparency and accessibility, which lays the foundation for a competent relationship based on mutual trust. Online forms for submitting questions are almost forbidden, as they have been replaced by e-mail addresses and phone numbers of real persons with first and last name, who cover specific areas within the organization.

Today, many organizations are addressing the question of how to tell the public the right and true corporate story to the public, while not allowing this role to be assumed by the general opinion of the surrounding community. Keeping in mind that a modern approach in a coherent and transparent presentation is needed, the answer seems to be in the palm of the hand: setting up a corporate newsroom.