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Tweets heard ‘round the world: How international news agencies covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election through Twitter

Stamm, Jason Tweets heard ‘round the world: How international news agencies covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election through Twitter. 2017. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

Due to a lack of research with a global perspective on the media’s use of Twitter, this mixed methods approach examined how Twitter was used by news agencies to report on the 2016 United States presidential election. Using a theoretical approach of agenda setting theory, framing theory, and diffusion of innovations, a content analysis was used to code for 11 dependent variables that described how three news agencies, the Associated Press, Reuters and Xinhua, used Twitter during the three-day period before, during and after election day. Using a grounded theory approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with social media editors of AP and Reuters and an anonymous Xinhua employee via telephone and email. The results of this research revealed that not all news agencies are making use of Twitter innovations, though the overall reach of their tweets, in terms of retweets, likes and followers, was not necessarily affected. Research also identified differences in the press freedoms of the media outlets examined in the study.

Item Type: Thesis
Subjects: J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Divisions: Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > School of Communication
Date Deposited: 18 Sep 2017 20:03
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2023 19:34
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/348

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