Making the most of Twitter: How technological affordances influence Swedish journalists’ self-branding

• Journalists are among the most frequent users of Twitter, and Twitter has become an important platform for personal branding. Social media logic promotes not only a chase for virality and impressive metrics but also a mix of professional, personal, and private content, as well as sharing, interaction, and dialogue. Focusing one aspect of social media logic, the aim of this study is to analyze how the technological affordances of Twitter shape journalists’ self-branding in their account presentations and whether there are differences between groups of journalists. The study draws on a quantitative content analysis of Swedish journalists’ Twitter presentations and account information (N=2543). The findings suggest that Swedish journalists on Twitter brand themselves as being more audience oriented, networking, and individualistic, projecting a mixed identity including both professional and personal features, and that social media logic influence journalists’ self-branding.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Medievetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Media Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

branding

journalism

journalists

mediatization

quantitative content analysis

social media

social media logic

technological affordances

Twitter

Branding

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)