Papers by Logan Molyneux
This study explores the use of Twitter by political reporters and commentators—an understudied po... more This study explores the use of Twitter by political reporters and commentators—an understudied population within the rapidly growing literature on digital journalism—covering the 2012 Republican and Democratic conventions. In particular, we want to know if and how the “affordances” of Twitter are shaping the traditional norms and routines of US campaign reporting surrounding objectivity, transparency, gatekeeping, and horse race coverage, and whether Twitter is bursting the “bubble” of insider talk among reporters and the campaigns they cover. A sample derived from all tweets by over 400 political journalists reveals a significant amount of opinion expression in reporters' tweets, but little use of Twitter in ways that improve transparency or disrupt journalists' (and campaigns’) role as gatekeepers of campaign news. Overall, particularly when looking at what political journalists retweet and what they link to via Twitter, the campaign “bubble” seems at the moment to have remained largely intact.
Digital Journalism, 2014
ABSTRACT
Journalism Studies, 2013
ABSTRACT
Researchers have explored the role of organizational and personal branding in journalism, paying ... more Researchers have explored the role of organizational and personal branding in journalism, paying particular attention to digital media and social network sites. While these studies have observed a rise in the incorporation of branding practices among journalists, they have largely avoided questions about the implications such shifts in practice may have on the personal identities of journalists. This study addresses that gap, drawing on interviews with 41 reporters and editors from US newspapers. The findings suggest that as reporters incorporate branding into their routines, they may feel as though they are sacrificing the ability to simultaneously maintain a personal identity online. For their part, editors seem to sympathize with journalists' loss of personal identity but defer to organizational policies.
Journalism, Sep 25, 2014
Using Twitter, journalists may pass along comment from other users without, at least ostensibly, ... more Using Twitter, journalists may pass along comment from other users without, at least ostensibly, taking accountability for that message. Minimizing responsibility and editorial oversight, as is the case with retweets, allows a different view of individual journalists as gatekeepers. Through a qualitative textual analysis, this study finds that journalists are challenging norms of objectivity and independence on Twitter. Journalists frequently pass along subtle interpretation and analysis rather than strong opinions. Many retweets are humorous, sometimes even at journalism’s expense. Journalists also retweet many
messages about themselves, working to build a personal brand and relationships with their audience. Implications for journalists, their industry, and the audience are discussed.
The International Journal of Press/Politics
In a multi-channel era of fragmented and contested political communication, both misinformation a... more In a multi-channel era of fragmented and contested political communication, both misinformation and fact-checking have taken on new significance. The rise of Twitter as a key venue for political journalists would seem to support their fact-checking activities. Through a content analysis of political journalists’ Twitter discourse surrounding the 2012 presidential debates, this study examines the degree to which fact-checking techniques were employed on Twitter and the ways in which journalists on Twitter adhered to the practices of either “professional” or “scientific” objectivity—the mode that underlies the fact-checking enterprise—or disregarded objectivity altogether. A typology of tweets indicates that fact-checking played a notable but secondary role in journalists’ Twitter discourse. Professional objectivity, especially simple stenography, dominated reporting practices on Twitter, and opinion and commentary were also prevalent. We determine that Twitter is indeed conducive to some elements of fact-checking. But taken as a whole, our data suggest that journalists and commentators posted opinionated tweets about the candidates’ claims more often than they fact-checked those claims.
Digital Journalism
Observational studies of journalists on social media platforms suggest that journalists are begin... more Observational studies of journalists on social media platforms suggest that journalists are beginning to develop personal brands using social media. Similar studies suggest that journalists covering specialty areas such as health are more likely to experiment with and adopt new forms of practice that break with the traditional tenets of journalism. Through interviews with such journalists, this study explores the perceptions, practices, and drivers of personal branding among journalists. Findings indicate journalists are squarely focused on branding at the individual level (rather than branding the organizations they work for). Journalists cite technological and cultural changes in the profession as giving rise to personal branding. They also describe the tension they feel between their obligation to uphold the traditional tenets of journalism and their perceived need to incorporate more branding into their practice, especially on social media platforms. The findings indicate that journalists may be changing the fundamental elements of branding in at least one way, exchanging the differentiation between themselves and their content for the mutual sharing and co-creation of content with their colleagues and audience.
Journal of Communication
This article relies on U.S. two-wave-panel-data to examine the role of social media as a sphere f... more This article relies on U.S. two-wave-panel-data to examine the role of social media as a sphere for political expression and its effects on political participation. Informational uses of social media are expected to explain political expression on social media and to promote political participation. Additionally, this study clarifies the effect of using social media for other purposes — social interaction — in fostering political expression and participation processes. Results indicate social media news use has direct effects on offline political participation and indirect effects on offline and online political participation mediated via political expression. Furthermore, social media use for social interaction doesn’t have a direct influence in people's political engagement, but rather an indirect effect by means of citizens expressing themselves politically.
Newspaper Research Journal
This national survey of working journalists examined the extent to which they have adopted smartp... more This national survey of working journalists examined the extent to which they have adopted smartphones in their work and how that adoption has changed their routines and practices. Results show that most journalists have smartphones and feel they have improved the quality of their work. Journalists with smartphones are freed from their desks and gather more multimedia information than those without smartphones.
Journalism Studies, Sep 20, 2013
This study explores the use of Twitter by political reporters and commentators—an understudied po... more This study explores the use of Twitter by political reporters and commentators—an understudied population within the rapidly growing literature on digital journalism—covering the 2012 Republican and Democratic conventions. In particular, we want to know if and how the “affordances” of Twitter are shaping the traditional norms and routines of US campaign reporting surrounding objectivity, transparency, gatekeeping, and horse race coverage, and whether Twitter is bursting the “bubble” of insider talk among reporters and the campaigns they cover. A sample derived from all tweets by over 400 political journalists reveals a significant amount of opinion expression in reporters' tweets, but little use of Twitter in ways that improve transparency or disrupt journalists' (and campaigns’) role as gatekeepers of campaign news. Overall, particularly when looking at what political journalists retweet and what they link to via Twitter, the campaign “bubble” seems at the moment to have remained largely intact.
Research Papers by Logan Molyneux
This study investigates news consumption on mobile devices with the goal of identifying where mob... more This study investigates news consumption on mobile devices with the goal of identifying where mobile devices fit into people's media repertoires and how consumption patterns on them are different from those on other platforms. Results suggest that mobile devices are almost always used along with other platforms for getting news, that news sessions on smartphones are shorter than on other platforms, and mobile news consumption happens more times per day and is spread throughout the day. Implications for the study of news consumption, news producers , and consumers are discussed.
Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 2015
Recent research suggests that social interactions in video games may lead to the development of c... more Recent research suggests that social interactions in video games may lead to the development of community bonding and prosocial attitudes. Building on this line of research, a national survey of U.S. adults finds that gamers who develop ties with a community of fellow gamers possess gaming social capital, a new gaming-related community construct that is shown to be a positive antecedent in predicting both face-to-face social capital and civic participation.
Articles by Logan Molyneux
Information, Communication & Society, 2018
In a social media age, branding is an increasingly visible aspect of identity construction online... more In a social media age, branding is an increasingly visible aspect of identity construction online. For media professionals generally and journalists especially, branding on spaces such as Twitter reveals the complicated set of forces confronting such public-facing actors as they navigate tensions between personal disclosure for authenticity and professional decorum for credibility, and between establishing one’s own distinctiveness and promoting one’s employer or other stakeholders. While studies have begun to reveal what journalists say about branding, they have yet to provide a broad profile of what they do. This study takes up that challenge through a content analysis of the Twitter profiles and tweets of a representative sample of 384 U.S. journalists. We focus on the extent of branding practices; the levels at which such branding occurs, whether to promote one’s self (individual), one’s news organization (organizational), or the journalism profession at large (institutional); and how other social media practices may be related to forms of journalistic branding. Results suggest that branding is now widely common among journalists on Twitter; that branding occurs at all three levels but primarily at the individual and organizational levels, with organizational branding taking priority; and that time on Twitter is connected with more personal information being shared.
Research Papers and Book Chapters by Logan Molyneux
Social Media + Society, 2022
This commentary considers the concept of "disconnection" as a way to understand practices of cont... more This commentary considers the concept of "disconnection" as a way to understand practices of contemporary digital journalism while advocating for consideration of disconnection as a necessary component of sustainable journalism.
Journalism Practice, 2021
Journalists are increasingly reporting that online harassment has become a common feature of thei... more Journalists are increasingly reporting that online harassment has become a common feature of their working lives, contributing to experiences of fatigue, anxiety and disconnection from social media as well as their profession. Drawing on interviews with American newsworkers, this study finds at least three distinct forms of harassment: acute harassment such as generalized verbal abuse, chronic harassment occurring over time and often from the same social media users and escalatory harassment that is more personalized and directly threatening. Women journalists said they especially are experiencing chronic and escalatory forms of harassment. Journalists also discussed a perceived lack of systemic efforts on the part of news organizations to address such harassment, leaving journalists to search for preventative and palliative coping mechanisms on their own. Such labor may be driving journalists’ disconnection from social media as well as the profession of journalism and highlights a growing need for news organizations to address harassment as a systemic, rather than individual, issue. The mental health and well-being of journalists may depend on such action, especially at a time when more journalists are reporting fatigue, burnout, and a desire to exit the profession.
Uploads
Papers by Logan Molyneux
messages about themselves, working to build a personal brand and relationships with their audience. Implications for journalists, their industry, and the audience are discussed.
Research Papers by Logan Molyneux
Articles by Logan Molyneux
Research Papers and Book Chapters by Logan Molyneux
messages about themselves, working to build a personal brand and relationships with their audience. Implications for journalists, their industry, and the audience are discussed.