Social Media and U.S. Journalists: Uses and perceived effects on perceived norms and values

This study, based on a representative online survey of 1080 US journalists conducted in 2013, analyses the demographic and organizational predictors of how journalists use social media and how they evaluate the impact of these media on their professional norms and values. The findings indicate that 9 of 10 US journalists regularly use social media in their work—but mainly to check on what other news organizations are doing and to look for breaking news events. The most frequent users of social media are younger journalists with higher incomes who work for television, radio, or online news organizations. The findings also indicate that journalists who hold more positive attitudes toward the use of social media in journalism, and those who think that social media are more important in their jobs, tend to be more supportive of the populist-mobilizer and the disseminator roles of journalism.