Journalism Endures: Has Twitter Changed the News Product?

• In Event: Changing the News 140 Characters At a Time: Twitter's Impact on Journalism

Abstract

This study examines the effect of social media use by news agencies on their journalistic norms and practices: public service orientation, objectivity, and accountability. The data are 1,141 stories posted by six mainstream media organizations on Twitter over one constructed week in 2012. Findings show a tendency toward professional, hierarchical journalism; even blog posts have not led to innovative adoption of the horizontal communication patterns of social media. Traditional newsrooms rather co-opt the new technology to connect with digital media users. This study concludes that journalism as an institution normalizes rather than adjusts to the changing media landscape.

Author

• Shin Haeng Lee, U of Washington