Routinizing a New Technology in the Newsroom: Twitter as a News Source in Mainstream Media

This study examined how news organizations employed Twitter as a news source, based on information subsidy and gatekeeping perspectives. News content analysis from 7 major media entities in 2010–2011 demonstrated that journalists embraced Twitter as a new channel for information gathering. TV frequently cited Twitter as a sole or a primary source. However, despite active usage of Twitter overall, journalists in both TV and newspapers maintained conventional routines by relying primarily on Twitter accounts of official sources. The popularity of Twitter accounts, as indicated by the number of followers, did not contribute to attracting more attention from journalists.