Social Media & the News

Lee Rainie speaks at a conference on citizen journalism and social media (updated with slides)

In today’s news landscape, both mainstream and new media sources shape the narrative. A new PEJ study finds that no single unified message reverberated throughout the media universe in the wake of the November 2 voting and what one learned depended largely on where one got the news.  How did the post election-day narrative differ from the front pages to the television studies and from bloggers to Twitterers?

The latest biennial survey on news consumption from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reveals signs of a new era in the acquisition and consumption of news—and there is reason to expect the shift will accelerate. What is the nature of this new era, and why is it happening? A commentary on the findings by PEJ Director Tom Rosenstiel.

This talk highlights how today’s changing information ecology, specifically the increasing use of social media and mobile technologies, has altered the way consumers access and interact with news and information.

The stories and issues that gain traction in social media differ substantially from those that lead in the mainstream press. But they also differ greatly from each other. Across a year-long study of blogs, Twitter and YouTube, the three platforms shared the same top story just once. What are the stories and issues that dominate in theses platforms? And what media outlets tend to provide those stories? A new year-long study by report offers answers.

An overwhelming majority of Americans get their news from multiple news platforms. Which media sectors do people in the U.S rely on most? How has the internet and mobile technology changed the way people consume news? A joint PEJ-Pew Internet survey examines how internet and cell phone users have transformed news into a social experience.

How internet and cell phone users have turned news into a social experience.

Senior Research Specialist Amanda Lenhart's presentation, "Twitter and Status Updating: Demographics, Mobile Access and News Consumption," given at AoIR 10.0 in Milwaukee, WI on October 8, 2009.

Along with communicating extensively via untethered mobile devices, Twitter users are more likely to consume news and information on these devices as well.

A new kind of news consumer emerges as a quarter of the population blends news sources rather than relying on one platform.