Twitter as a flexible tool: how the job role of the journalist influences tweeting habits

This study focuses on the tweeting habits of journalists with different job roles at a UK city newspaper. The Twitter profiles of 16 journalists working at The Star in Sheffield were captured in 2014 and a content analysis was conducted to examine the types of information each individual was reporting. The data revealed Twitter was being utilised as a versatile tool for gathering, reporting and disseminating news, and there was correlation between types of tweets and the job role of the profile account holder. Those in managerial positions tended to include more hyperlinks to their own news website and use Twitter as a promotional tool whereas sports journalists tended to use the social media platform as a live reporting tool. News reporters at the newspaper did not regularly link back to their legacy platform, preferring to use Twitter to build relationships and interactions with users. The authors conclude that these data together with similar comparative studies are useful for identifying patterns in changing journalistic roles within a local, national and international context. The emerging trends challenge the notion of the redefinition of the journalist as a universal role and instead point towards multiple redefinitions of the varying roles of journalists.