Reporters and producers are turning to social media and the web to mine for sources and stories in numbers greater than ever, according to a new D S Simon Web Influencers Survey.

According to the survey, 84 percent of traditional media websites increasingly rely on social media for story content, and 93 percent of newspaper websites use social media for story content. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube lead as media resources: 89 percent use Facebook, 86 percent use Facebook and 58 percent use YouTube.

Traditional media sites are likewise increasingly running stories pitched via social media: 75 percent of newspaper reporters and 72 percent of television producers have run stories pitched to them via social media.

“The common denominator in all of these developments has been the increased role that web video has made in shaping the way organizations and websites cover the news” says Douglas Simon, president and CEO of D S Simon Productions. “Content created for an opt-in culture will be one of the driving factors in the years to come as a way for organizations and corporations to maintain and build relationships with key publics.”

The survey also found 33 percent growth in the use of video by media websites since 2009 and 80 percent use outside produced video on their websites creating enormous opportunity for communicators including placement of uncredited video on media websites