This research seeks to quantify social media's value as a reporting tool for journalists by understanding it as an instrument for accessing personal data. A national survey of reporters at all large and midsize U.S. newspapers shows that journalists place more value on Twitter than Facebook as it relates to professional practice. Evaluation of the various practice-based functions relative to individual journalists' value perceptions suggests that Facebook's value is tied to its use for querying friends and conducting research. Twitter's value was significantly tied to the platform's use for querying followers, performing research, and activities associated with contacting sources.
Keywordsjournalists, social media, news coverage and reporting, personal data In March 2013, the New York Times ran a story about an Ohio rape case that captured the nation's attention. The story, which explained how the story first broke through Twitter posts and an Instagram photo, contained a hyperlink of a relevant YouTube video. In a story four months earlier in the New York Times on the same topic, reporters used a quote taken from one of the assailants' Twitter page. Reporters also relied on social media to describe the events surrounding the night in question. After the verdict and conviction, two girls were arrested for making threats to the victim. The threats, made via Twitter, were quoted in yet another New York Times article. The stories