ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how much and why journalists use Twitter and how it influences their professional practices. It identifies three general stances regarding social media among journalists: the active enthusiasts, the pragmatic conformists, and the skeptical shunners. Bearing in mind the social media hype that prods journalists to start a Twitter account, it comes as no surprise that the active j-tweeters are characterized by an overall positive attitude toward using social media as part of their work. Equally predictable are the very large generational differences in social media use among journalists. This generational gap is even more pronounced when it comes to Twitter. Even light and moderate users find Twitter useful for such purposes. Interestingly, the primary function of Twitter to date is to provide new means for doing traditional journalistic tasks: finding and researching stories. Despite the benefits of transparency, there are more troubling sides of the blurred lines between the private and the professional on Twitter.
