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Online news on Twitter: Newspapers’ social media adoption and their online readership

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  • Hong, Sounman

Abstract

Many news organizations have recognized the potential of social media as a journalistic tool and have used social media marketing to attract online audiences. The aim of this study is to understand the implications of news organizations’ adoption of social media sites through (1) an examination of the relationship between news organizations’ adoption of social media and their online readership and (2) a comparison of online traffic generated by social media sites with that generated by other online media institutions. Evidence suggests that newspapers’ adoption of social media is positively associated with an increase in their online readership, and this association increases in the size of the newspapers’ social media networks (e.g., number of Twitter followers). Evidence also suggests that the association between newspapers’ social media adoption and their online traffic may differ compared to the association between other online media institutions and the online traffic they generated. A descriptive analysis shows that the online traffic generated by social media sites is less concentrated than that generated by search engines or news aggregators; this can be explained by the fact that social media sites might be less susceptible to information cascades, compared to search engines or news aggregators.

Suggested Citation

  • Hong, Sounman, 2012. "Online news on Twitter: Newspapers’ social media adoption and their online readership," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 69-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:24:y:2012:i:1:p:69-74
    DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2012.01.004
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    6. Irina Iosub & Adelina Ivanov & Dan Smedescu, 2016. "Characteristics and Development of Social Media as a Marketing Communications Tool," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 339-345, September.
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    9. Jacques Simon Song & Georges Ngnouwal Eloundou & Fabrice Bitoto Ewolo & Blaise Ondoua Beyene, 2024. "Does Social Media Contribute to Economic Growth?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8349-8389, June.
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    14. Marco Toledo Bastos & Gabriela Zago, 2013. "Tweeting News Articles," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(3), pages 21582440135, September.
    15. George, Lisa M., 2016. "Mobile, Media & More: Contributions and Developments at Information Economics and Policy," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-2.
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    19. Bisceglia, Michele, 2023. "The unbundling of journalism," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social media; Twitter; Facebook; Online news; Digital media; Information cascades; Information economics; Media economics; Online media institution; Aggregator; Search engine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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