J-Tweeters

Abstract

This paper studies the process of normalizing in journalism by examining journalists’ use of Twitter. Who are the active j-tweeters, and how do they use Twitter? And how do j-tweeters deviate from other journalists concerning professional practices and norms? The study draws from a representative large-N mail survey of Swedish journalists. The findings indicate that there are substantive differences in norms and values between the most active j-tweeters and their colleagues concerning the “Twitter-specific” features of interaction and networking and their views on personal branding. On the other hand, as the most active j-tweeters do not deviate on core professional values, it appears that Twitter is being normalized in journalism. However, due to the ongoing generational shift in the newsrooms, the views held by the active j-tweeters could lead to a new professional view on journalism in which audience orientation and professional positioning gain importance.

• KEYWORDS
• audience orientation
• journalism practice
• journalists
• normalizing
• personal branding
• professional values
• social media
• Twitter

Notes

1. The definition of social media/networking sites suggested by boyd and Ellison (2008, 211) is: “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”.

2. Twittercensus 2013 (http://twittercensus.se/twittercensus2013/).

3. For example, Mittmedia, a Swedish newspapers group of regionals and locals, in the beginning of 2013 offered to allow 80 journalists to leave with a golden handshake while advertising for 20 new multimedia journalists for their digital news desks, see http://journalisten.se/nyheter/100-lamnar-mittmedia-med-avgangsvederlag and http://journalisten.se/nyheter/mittmedia-soker-20-digitala-journalister.