Who’s Following Twitter? Coverage of the Microblogging Phenomenon by U.S. Cable News Networks

Authors

  • Deborah S. Chung University of Kentucky, School of Journalism and Telecommunications
  • Mina Tsay-Vogel Boston University, Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations
  • Yung Soo Kim University of Kentucky, School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Keywords:

Twitter, microblogging, cable news, diffusion, source, framing, participatory journalism

Abstract

Through data captured in a digital content analysis (DCA) lab, we examine coverage of Twitter across three 24-hour U.S. cable news channels: CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. This investigation tracked Twitter coverage from its initial stage, followed by its rise to a massively used tool and its subsequent diffusion into society, evident through its plateauing coverage. News stories covering Twitter, as it penetrated into society, were more likely to use benefit/gain frames when discussing the technology, highlighting its positive social, communicative, political, and participatory impact. Benefit frames were also likely to associate Twitter with journalism. Patterns emerging through the indicator graphs plotted by the DCA lab showed that the most intense coverage occurred during crisis situations, as Twitter coverage reached saturation, followed by increased personal daily usage of Twitter.

Author Biographies

Deborah S. Chung, University of Kentucky, School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Deborah S. Chung is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on the changing dynamics between communication professionals and their audiences through emergent information communication technologies (ICTs) with special emphasis on ways through which ICTs empower information consumers.dchung@uky.edu, 859-257-3021

Mina Tsay-Vogel, Boston University, Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations

Mina Tsay-Vogel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations
at Boston University. Her research focuses on the psychological and social effects of mass media, enjoyment and appreciation of entertainment, and the psychology of new and social media.minatv@bu.edu, 617-358-5860

Yung Soo Kim, University of Kentucky, School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Yung Soo Kim is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky. His research interests include, photojournalism ethics, visual framing analysis and online journalism.kim.s.eye@uky.edu, 859-257-9466

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Published

2015-10-15

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Articles

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