According to a recent Pew Research Center survey of reporters, editors, and others working in the news industry, more than nine in 10 (94%) U.S. journalists use social media for work. . But the sites journalists use most often are different from the sites the general public uses to get their news.
Among journalists, Twitter clearly ranks at the top of the list of work-related tasks. About seven (69%) of U.S. journalists say it is the social media site they use most or second for work. Following Twitter is Facebook at 52%, followed by Instagram (19%), LinkedIn (17%), and YouTube (14%) much further down the list. None of the other sites asked about in the survey (Reddit, WhatsApp, TikTok, Discord, Twitch, Snapchat) were named by more than 4% of the journalists surveyed.
A different lineup will be available for the general public. Among Americans overall, Facebook is the most widely used social media site for news, with 31% of US adults saying they regularly visit Facebook for news. . YouTube is his second most used site, with 22% of the population getting their news regularly. Despite Twitter’s widespread use among journalists, even fewer adults (13%) say they regularly get their news from Twitter. Overall, just under half (48%) of U.S. adults say they often or sometimes get their news from social media sites.
The primary source of data for this analysis was a survey of 11,889 U.S.-based journalists who currently work in the news industry and who said their current job reported, edited, or produced original news articles. This is a Pew Research Center survey. The survey was conducted online by SSRS from February 16 to March 17, 2022. Please read the appendix for a detailed demographic profile of the journalists who responded to the survey.
Because there is no readily available list of all U.S. journalists, Center researchers utilize commercial databases of U.S.-based journalists and supplementary lists of news organizations to identify 16 We created a broad and diverse sample of more than 10,000 journalists. Report area as much as possible. Although it is impossible to be confident that all areas of the U.S. journalism profession are covered by the sample, the use of multiple databases and supplementary lists allows for a variety of coverage areas, types of news platforms, coverage We ensured that journalists were targeted according to the size of the institution. and types such as those working in organizations primarily aimed at reaching specific demographic groups were represented.
Using propensity weighting, we ensured that the answers of 11,889 respondents matched the full sample of more than 160,000 journalists in terms of job title, news organization type, freelance status, and geographic location Did.
See the topline for the questions journalists were asked in the survey. For more information on creating our sample of journalists and weighting our research, please see our methodology.
Figures on the percentage of U.S. adults who regularly get news from each social media site are from a Pew Research Center survey of 11,178 U.S. adults conducted from July 26 to August 8, 2021. It is obtained. The Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) is an online survey panel recruited through a random sampling of residential addresses across the country. In this way, nearly every American adult has the opportunity to choose. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, and other categories. Learn more about ATP’s methodology here.
See the topline for questions asked of U.S. adults in this survey, answers, and methodology.
This is the latest report in the Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation into the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age. This research program is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and receives generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Demographic differences in journalists’ use of social media platforms
Among journalists, the use of social media for work purposes is common across all age groups, but there are differences in the sites most frequently used.
Twitter is particularly popular among young journalists, with 83% of 18-29 year olds identifying it as one of the social media sites they use most. In stark contrast, 45% of journalists over the age of 65 list Twitter as one of their top two social media sites for work. Instagram is also popular among younger journalists (under 50), while LinkedIn and YouTube are slightly more popular among older journalists (over 50).
By race and ethnicity, Twitter is particularly popular among Asian American journalists, with 82% saying it is one of the sites they use most often, compared to white (69%) and black (70%), and approximately 7 for Hispanics. Journalist (71%). A third of Black journalists say Instagram is one of the sites they use most, as do 29% of Hispanic journalists and 24% of Asian journalists, both statistically similar. That’s higher than 18% of white journalists who responded.
Differences depending on the type of news organization to which journalists belong
The social media sites used by journalists often vary depending on the characteristics of the news organization they work for, such as the organization’s original platform, the political composition of its audience, and the geographic focus of the organization’s activities.
Journalists who claim their organizations began in television news stand out in several areas. Two-thirds of journalists in this group say that Facebook is one of their most frequently used social media sites. This is the highest percentage of any platform group and significantly higher than his 38% of journalists working in online organizations. Journalists who say they work for organizations with television origins are most likely to say that their two sites they rely on most include Twitter (80% say so), while print journalists least likely to answer (62%). At the same time, not only television but also radio journalists few They are more likely to say LinkedIn is one of their top two sites than online or print journalists.
Journalists’ use of social media sites also depends on what they perceive to be the political composition of their audiences. Journalists who say they work for a news organization with a politically right-leaning audience are much more likely to say Facebook is among the top two social media sites for their work than journalists with a left-leaning audience. higher (67% vs. 45%). Conversely, journalists who say their organization has a left-leaning audience are twice as likely to use Instagram than those who say their organization has a right-leaning audience (24% vs. 12%) .
The difference for Twitter is less significant, but three-quarters of journalists who say they work for a news organization with a politically left-leaning audience say Twitter is one of the sites they use most often. However, 66% of the organization’s journalist audience leans to the right politically.
Facebook is the most commonly used social media platform among journalists who say they work for news organizations focused on communities, cities, and counties. 73% said this is one of their top sites. This number drops to 33% for journalists working for domestically focused organizations and 30% for journalists working for internationally focused organizations.
Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is more likely to be used by journalists at nationally or internationally focused news organizations. About a quarter of journalists at national news organizations (25%) and international news organizations (27%) count LinkedIn as one of the social media sites they use most frequently, whereas community-focused reporting Only 9% of institutions are journalists and 12% of journalists. I work in stores throughout the state. (Freelance and self-employed journalists were asked about the geographic focus of their work, not the geographic focus of their organization’s activities.)
Note: Here are the questions and answers we asked journalists for this analysis. methodology. Here are questions and answers from U.S. citizens. methodology.
mark jerkowitz He is a senior writer at the Pew Research Center and former associate director of journalism studies.
Jeffrey Gottfried He is an associate director of Internet and technology research at Pew Research Center.