Journalism and Twitter

Basic data for this project

Description

In the expertise for the „Landesanstalt für Medien Nordrhein-Westfalen (LfM)" (Media Broadcasting Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia) the relevance of the social network "Twitter" for the public and its relationship to professional journalism is investigated. The relationship is explored from three different perspectives: First, it is analysed empirically with regard to the news value which events have an outstanding relevance on Twitter and how this differs from traditional journalism. Second, the production of news is examined: Which impact do Twitter and other user generated news have on the production of professional news? How widespread is the journalistic enquiry using Twitter? Third, it is asked in a secondary analysis what impact Twitter and user generated news have on the news reception. An survey amongst internet editorial offices, that follows up on the DFG-Project "Journalismus im Internet" (Journalism in the Internet) (2006-2008), marks the empirical core item of the project. In the survey, the impact and use of Twitter and other social media formats is analysed.