ABSTRACT
A key trajectory in the relationship between news media institutions and political institutions is related to the changing practices of media production. The interconnections between journalists and politicians have been increasingly complex after the rise of political communication on and through social media platforms. Political actors, previously positioned outside the realm of media institutions, have now incorporated social media such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs into their daily communication strategies. Politicians use Twitter and Facebook as communicative platforms, both in relation to private users (citizens, audiences), and in order to influence and network with news media professionals (e.g. Larsson and Moe 2012). Thus, journalists are now facing politicians in a multimodal communication environment, which means that they cannot solely rely on traditional journalistic methods such as interviewing political actors or attending press conferences, etc. Simultaneously, journalists are also incorporating social media use in their daily work routines. A recent study shows that Twitter is the fastest growing social media platform deployed by journalists in Sweden (Lindqvist 2013). In 2013, 68 per cent of all Swedish journalists used Twitter in their profession compared to 48 per cent in 2011, thus making Twitter-use equal to Facebook-use. On the other hand, the number of journalists that used Facebook in their profession declined to 68 per cent in 2013 from 77 per cent in 2011 (Lindqvist 2013). If this trend continues, it means that Twitter soon will be the biggest
social media platform used by Swedish journalists in their work practices. This trend is also evident in other countries. In the United Kingdom, 97 per cent of business journalists use social media regularly for their work, with Twitter being the most popular platform used by 70 per cent (Cision 2012).
