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Participatory Journalism and Transformative Events: Covering the Same-Sex Marriage Debate on Twitter

Sat, May 23, 12:00 to 13:15, Caribe Hilton, Conference Room 8/9

Abstract

When occurrences are constructed as extraordinary events—through (social) media debates and beyond—they can alter cultural beliefs. This paper discusses one such event, the passage of same-sex marriage (SSM) law in New York in June 2011, which was not only significant for the national debate on marriage equality. For the reporters, who covered the event on the ground and whose twitterverse transcended the putative echo chamber for the first time, it was an important catalyst for adopting principles of participatory journalism. Years later, the SSM debate was still exceptional and served as reference point for the potentials of Twitter, its networked audiences and the legitimacy of newly adopted practices and diversified professional norms. This study is based on a content analysis of a small sample of tweets (n=4492), news diffusion analysis (Anderson, 2010) through different platforms and ethnographic field research at the government building conducted between 2009 and 2011.

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