The third annual U.S. Media Myths & Realities survey shows an increasing blurring of boundaries between traditional media and consumer-driven social media when it comes to  purchasing products, seeking information, planing their social lives, and making personal and business decisions.

This melding of media means the content deliverables that were once owned by a specific medium are now found on nearly all platforms – a shift that has helped create an increasingly participatory and fragmented media landscape.

The survey, conducted in late ‘08 and released today by Ketchum and the U of Southern California Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center, revealed a steep rise in the use of shopping Web sites among consumers, doubling from ‘06 to ‘08 (17% to 35%) and about half of those (44%) who visit shopping Web sites read consumer reviews and comments found on the site, demonstrating that these sites have transformed into virtual social gathering places and information destinations, rather than merely being a place to purchase goods. Consumers are placing more trust in the experiences of their online peers than they are on the retailer’s product descriptions, which is one example of the broadening definition of a social networking site.

This burgeoning participatory media landscape means media audiences are having just as much influence, if not more, than the content providers themselves.

“If you look at sites like Amazon, for instance, and read through the product reviews, what you’ll find is not only are people posting their thoughts via consumer-generated reviews, but they are also responding to each other’s comments. The effect is the creation of pockets of social networks found all over the Web,” said Nicholas Scibetta, Ketchum partner and director of the agency’s Global Media Network.

This fragmentation gives rise to more melding across media lines, said Jerry Swerling,founder and director of the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center

“As we’ve watched traditional mass communications give way to communications controlled by the masses, one of the greatest impacts of newer media formats, such as blogs and news feeds, is that they’ve given people additional channels through which to access established sources,” Swerling said. “All channels can now link with one another, allowing more collaboration and participation than ever. The melding of media is also demonstrated in the actions of legacy media, which are continuing to embrace and implement the principles of new media. Conversely, the journalistic principles that underline news organizations – accuracy, timeliness, objectivity and so forth – will move to other delivery channels. Regardless of where we get our information, we want the source to be credible.”

The survey also highlighted several key differences in media consumption between the general population and influencers. These include:

• Use of search engines – influencers 70%, general population 57%
• Use of nonjournalist blogs - influencers 43%, general population 16%
• Use of video-sharing Web sites – influencers 43%,    general      population 25%
• Use of specialty information portals (such as WebMD) – influencers 29%, general      population 16%
• Influencers also use more new media such as videocasts (19%), RSS news feeds (15%),      podcasts (12%), and mobile media (9%)

In addition, the survey identified key differences in the ways people consume media in the U.S. compared to the U.K. and Brazil. These include that consumers in the U.K. read national newspapers at nearly three times the rate of consumers in the U.S. (53% compared to 18%). Brazilians are even higher, at 62%.

About the Survey
The survey compares the media usage habits of 1,000 adult Americans (including 200 influential citizens, or “influencers” – the 10% to 15% of the population who initiate changes in their community or society through a variety of activities) and 500 communications industry professionals.