When Journalists Tweet: Disclosure, Participatory, and Personal Transparency

Abstract

This article analyses transparency among groups of journalists by examining journalists' tweets. It also answers a call from previous researchers on transparency on Twitter for further studies based on more representative samples of journalists.The study draws on a quantitative content analysis of Swedish journalists' tweets during 1 week in spring 2014. The total number of tweets analyzed (N) is 1,500. A total of 24% of the journalists' tweets can be described as being explicitly transparent. However, the findings indicate that while journalists on Twitter indeed discuss how the news are produced (disclosure transparency), they show less personal transparency, and hardly ever invite the audiences to interact or take part in the process of making news (participatory transparency).

How journalists engage in branding on Twitter: individual, organizational, and institutional levels

“…Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the complicated arrangement facing journalists on social media, as they seek new audiences, engage with sources, try to verify information, and deal with critics (Hermida, 2014). In one sense, journalists use social media to reach audiences directly and promote their own coverage, especially if they work a specific beat (Hedman, 2016;Lee, 2015;Olausson, 2016). However, they also are asked to promote their news organizations , and they may see their work as contributing to a larger public service, giving people the information they need to be self-governing and thereby supporting the broader mission of journalism as an institution (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2007).…”

The Personalisation of Conflict Reporting

“…Research has shown that journalists, in revealing personal information about themselves, have adapted their behaviour to suit the culture of social media (Holton and Lewis 2011;Lasorsa, Lewis and Holton 2011;Molyneux 2014). While such "personal transparency", through which journalists become celebrities, is promoted by social media logic (Hedman 2016), some journalists choose not to share personal information or opinions (e.g. Canter 2014; Rogstad 2016).…”

“…Luhn's post mentioning Vice News (Vice reporters were kidnapped in Ukraine) and Roland Oliphant, Moscow correspondent for the Telegraph, is illustrative of these behind-the-scenes friendships, but also of the humorous reflection on and reconstruction of the identity of a war correspondent (Figure 9). Hence, the journalists used humour and their own snapshot photos with a vernacular aesthetic to document the conflict from their own perspective; such behaviour is linked to the idea of personal tweets by journalists as a method of self-branding and gaining attention (Hedman 2016;Mourão 2015). Nevertheless, social media encourages the recording of delightful and funny encounters, bringing new aspects to journalists' professional reporting role and the visual coverage of conflict.…”

Las estrategias de los periodistas para la construcción de marca personal en Twitter: posicionamiento, curación de contenidos, personalización y especialización

“…Las redes sociales, en este sentido, funcionan como escaparates. Ofrecen al periodista la oportunidad de mostrar de forma transparente cómo desarrolla su trabajo y cómo es su vida privada (Hedman, 2016). Los periodistas son tan conscientes de la importancia de la marca, que desean ser aceptados por la audiencia, no únicamente por su trabajo, sino por su forma de ser (Molyneux y Holton, 2014).…”