Non-Elite Twitter Sources Rarely Cited in Coverage

Abstract

Agenda building, the process by which news outlets determine what cover, is one of the most widely studied topics in mass communication research.1 As McCombs pointed out, however, the dramatic changes brought on by the Internet require additional examinations into which are influential in the agenda building process.2 According the American Journalism Review, Twitter is one Internet-based source that seems particularly likely change the dynamics of media agenda building. Indeed, because reporters are relying on Twitter to story ideas, sources, connect with local communities, network and share and break news,3 the site may play increasingly important role in determining which issues receive media attention and which do not.4Perhaps the most conspicuous illustration of Twitter 's ability influence journalists occurred during the final weeks of the 2012 American presidential election campaign. In the first debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Romney, Romney claimed:I'm gonna stop the subsidy PBS....I like PBS, I like Big Bird.... But I'm not going keep on spending money on things borrow money from China pay for it.5Within five minutes of remarks, #BigBird was one of the fastest trending topics on Twitter-with 17,000 tweets per minute mentioning the popular Sesame Street character.6 Supporters of PBS took advantage of this spike in interest and quickly created parody accounts such as @SadBigBird and @FiredBigBird mock statements. Almost immediately after the debate, President Obama entered the fray by tweeting, Thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird.7The cascade of Twitter activity sparked scores of newspaper stories across the United States. USA Today, for example, ran a story titled Romney's 'Big Bird' comment stirs social media.8 The Los Angeles Times published article called Mitt plan cut Big Bird's funding sparks Twitter frenzy.9 Not be outdone, the Global Post wrote #BigBird: Romney provokes Twitter backlash.10The case of Romney and Big Bird illustrates that a few thousands tweets can create instantaneous avalanche of media attention. But how common is it for Twitter exert this kind of influence over media coverage? This study attempts answer this question by providing empirical assessment of how political reporters used Twitter find story ideas and develop sources by tracking newspaper mentions of tweets during the 2012 American election campaign.11Literature ReviewSources in Media CoverageAccording Franklin et al., an understanding of the relationship between journalists and their sits at the heart of journalism studies.12 Shoemaker and Reese define news as external of raw material, such as speeches, interviews, corporate reports and government hearings.13 Beginning with the work of Sigal, numerous studies of news production have attempted clarify the role that these external suppliers play in structuring media coverage.14 Most notably, Gans described the relationship between journalists and their as a complicated, yet mutually beneficial, dance-where seek out journalists in order reach the media's audience and journalists nurture relationships with in order establish reliable channels of access newsworthy information. According Gans, the heavy informational demands and tight time constraints of the news business inevitably mean that this dance is led by rather than by journalists.15 Indeed, subsequent research has demonstrated that often shape news reports more than journalists themselves.16As a result of the fact that journalists so frequently follow their lead, are seen be essential components of media agenda building. Unsurprisingly, therefore, researchers have conducted numerous studies of sourcing patterns in attempt identify the actors who are influential in shaping the media's agenda. …