TRANSPARENCY AND OTHER JOURNALISTIC NORMS ON TWITTER

Abstract

A growing argument in communication scholarship is that quality journalism online can distinguish itself from rumor and unchecked information by being transparent, by revealing how information was obtained, so audiences can see through it to its origins and help correct errors. This study examined the extent to which female and male journalists differ in their use of Twitter and, specifically, their journalistic transparency on Twitter. Female journalists were found to differ little from male journalists in their Twitter presence, topics, opining or gatekeeping, but they were significantly more transparent. They revealed more about their jobs, personal lives and everyday activities, and they linked more to external websites, all indicators of greater transparency. While women working for national news media were less likely to offer opinion, retweet, link or tweet about themselves or their everyday lives than women working for less “elite” media—which would support a professional socialization perspective—none of these differences was statistically significant.