News on the Tweet is a report from Newsworks (a marketing organisation representing newspapers) and Twitter designed to show the positive impact new and digital media can have on traditional media.
1.Why are respected news brands good news for Twitter?
Respected newsbrands are an important
source of new Twitter users.
More than one in 10 of the
newsbrand followers on Twitter
claim they were first introduced
to it by their newspaper brand
– that amounts to hundreds of
thousands of Twitter users. Newsbrands also increase
traffic. Four in 10 agree they
check Twitter frequently to
see what is going on with their
favourite newspaper brands.
2.Why in turn is Twitter good for respected news brands?
Newsbrands bring a number of assets to the table, but it is a symbiotic relationship. Twitter
is helping to make newsbrands
more accessible, more in infuential
and more connected than ever before.The immediacy and accessibility
of Twitter brings valuable readers to newspaper brands that they
would not normally read in print
or directly online. Twitter’s instant accessibility
and diversity of content enables
newsbrand followers to widen
their portfolio of sources to suit
their own interests, opinions and
tastes. The vast majority of them (78%) access a range of brands,
sub-brands or journalists;
providing much higher combined
reach levels than could ever be
provided in the analogue age. As was often the case in this
study, sub-brand followers were
even more enthusiastic – often
following a range of sub-brands
featuring di erent types of content. Just as importantly, Twitter
helps them feel more connected to their favourite newspaper
brands. There was significant
agreement that Twitter helps
them to engage with brands they
would not normally read in print
or online, and that most of those
who do so feel better connected
to those newsbrands. There is a real interest in
newsbrands because they
provide a valuable link to more
in-depth analysis, comment
and opinion.
3.The report suggests that old and new media “are not, in fact, in direct competition, but often work extremely well together to enhance both the media eco-system and the consumer experience”. What evidence do they provide to support this idea?
I agree to some extent with this statement; although there are clear cases of competition, there is a huge collaborative process of mediums. In the case of twitter and news brands, Twitter undeniably promotes many papers (both directly and indirectly). However, millennials clearly are straying from print, turning to new and digital media for content instead.
4.The focus turns to 'gossip' or 'banter'. What example tweets from journalists are used to illustrate this?
Gossip and banter about
celebrities, sports or political
scandals are all part of the
entertainment and are often
turned to when newsbrand
followers want to relax. They are looking for both humour as well
as ‘backstage access’ into the
lives of the people and things they
are interested in. Newsbrands are responsible for some of the
most popular individual tweeters.
Individual journalists are key
contributors to the humorous
content on Twitter. Examples can be seen in the image such as 'embarrassing' celebrity moments like how a reporter (Dan Wootton) got his mic stuck on Myleene Klass' clothes. 5.Do you think the increasing amount of 'gossip' or 'banter' is harming the reputation of news and journalists?
I definitely believe that the increasingly 'humorous' content is extremely harmful to the reputation of news and journalists. Not only will be viewed as frivolous or insubstantial but there is a chance that it will override serious, high brow news stories. When sites such as the Mail Online become more popular over other sites such as The Times or The Guardian, the news begins to be associated with low brow, paltry news. This has a wider effect on society as a whole because we are increasingly becoming more and more driven by instant, grabbing headlines in order to entertain ourselves.
6.What does the report say about trust in Twitter and journalists?
Almost half of all Twitter users, and almost two thirds of newsbrand users, say it is
important that news on Twitter is verified by a respected brand.
This helps build trust in the content as audiences feel the source is more legitimate and therefore trustworthy and reliable.
I think that developments in new and traditional media has had a very clear, negative impact on traditional newspapers. Over a million people have stopped buying a newspaper in the past two years - this is an eneroromous shift in the mediums people are buying and consuming. I believe this is entirely due to the fact that new and digital media makes accessibility and prices issues non-existent. These mediums are simply easier to consume and more interactive - in ways that a print medium would struggle to compete in.
8.Finally, how can we link this report to the vital current debate regarding fake news and Facebook? Do traditional news brands need protecting to ensure there are sources we can trust?
Facebook, a social media platform was seen as the main driver of traffic for fake news, specifically during the US election. The traditional news brands were not at fault, their content was reliable and followed regulations - fake news was hardly an issue in print news. It is vital that traditional news brands are being protecting as they are the only consistently reliable sources among a vast number of unreliable sources.
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