From 1.0 Online Pressrooms to 2.0 Social Newsrooms at Museums Worldwide

Abstract

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The main objective was to evaluate if museums around the world are migrating from a 1.0 Online Pressroom model to a 2.0 Social Media Newsroom model, adapting their website to a wide group of publics and not just to the media. This article analyzes the websites of the 100 most visited museums worldwide, from 24 countries. It was applied a content analysis methodology, studying the characteristics of the sections devoted to news, the information resources used and interaction systems available on them. The results show that museums still have a long way to come in terms of social media. The traditional technique of sharing news exclusively with journalists still persists. Most museums still think that their websites are a place to disseminate news and information, but not a place to interact and engage in dialogue with their publics. It can help improve the understanding of how organizations disseminate information and engage in dialogue (or not) with their publics through their specific sections of news. It also contributes towards identifying the strengths and weaknesses of online communication policies and activities of organizations and to help improving their communication management, making entities more open and community-oriented. The study reflects the outcomes of a 3-year research project. It presents a specific methodology that help researchers and practitioners to assess and improve the online tools to engage in dialogue with their publics.