NDM case study: News on the Tweet

Why are respected news brands good news for Twitter? 

Respected news brand help to drive Twitter activity; an estimated four in 10 agree they check Twitter frequently to see what is going on with their favourite newspaper brands. This is what helps make newsbrand followers such a valuable audience for Twitter. They are three times more likely to retweet than non-followers; four times more likely to post links to articles and three times more likely to tweet about trending news topics. They are also far more likely to share their thoughts and reply to opinion about the news. Naturally, this means that newsbrand followers visit Twitter more often - they are 60% more likely to visit on a daily basis than non-followers and more than twice as likely to post on a daily basis. Of course, this provides excellent promotion for the newspaper brands, driving readership to both online and print.

Why in turn is Twitter good for respected news brands? 

Twitter is helping to make newsbrands more accessible, more influential 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. 

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? Do you agree with it? 

Legacy media is not in direct competition, but often works extremely well together with new media to enhance both the media eco-system and the consumer experience. In the case of Twitter and newspaper brands, enhancement takes place in four different ways to help benefit the audience: knowledge, opinion, gossip and banter. 

On page 24/25 of the report, the focus turns to 'gossip' or 'banter'. What example tweets from journalists are used to illustrate this? 

• Benedict Brogan @benedictbrogan • Jan 10 I’ve interviewed Nigel Farage. Dave won’t like it, obvs. But neither will @Ed_Miliband. Not at all. Will post link when I’ve found it

This is an example of banter as Brogan uses slang.

Do you think the increasing amount of 'gossip' or 'banter' is harming the reputation of news and journalists?

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. Also, the audience can relate to journalists on a personal level as banter helps to create a more lively outlook.

What does the report say about trust in Twitter and journalists (look at pages 34-39)?
Finally, do you think new and digital media developments such as Twitter have had a positive or negative impact on traditional newspapers?

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. The journalists themselves are frequently used as a source of breaking news, often being the first source of relevant stories for their follower; they are also trusted to have an insider view that is more informed than that of casual commentators and are felt to be less constrained in how they communicate their opinions. They are also regularly lauded for their witty and humorous insights.

Overall, new and digital developments have an equal balance of both positive and negative impacts. This is clearly evident as Twitter has helped attract a variety of audiences to traditional newspapers online, this is done through click-bait tweets. Ultimately, this drives Twitter users to look at online newspapers, helping brands such as the BBC to generate sufficient revenue. However, the root of the issue derives from the fact that audiences are not buying print media as much, as it usually tends to be the older generation who appreciate traditional media more than the younger generation. The reason for this is because most of the younger generation, who are most likely to have Twitter, can read content online from verified newspaper accounts which tweet all of their articles; this is a quicker and more accessible. From my perspective, verified Twitter accounts are seen to supply accurate news, so it would be pointless to buy a newspaper. This has a negative impact on the traditional newspapers as they are making less profit because all of the content is available online. The issue for analysis is that it's the traditonal newspaper brands are in fact the one which provide an authoritative viewpoint and offer verified news in a user generated content world.