Twitter as a Source of Information? Practices of Journalists Working for the French National Press
Résumé
This paper focuses on the uses of Twitter as a source of information and its role in the redefinition of the professional practices of journalists working for national daily print newspapers in France. Our research reveals that Twitter uses can be classified in four distinct categories. The latter correspond to four specific moments of the news production process: the identification of newsworthy content and relevant sources, the collaborative verification of information, the writing of the article. However, journalists unanimously address these uses through very different attitudes, from full acceptance to strong reticence. Specifically, althoughwitter is largely used as a starting point to news identification, reservations are prevalent when it comes to its use as a source, or as a means to identify sources. Reluctance concerns collaborative verification of information and informative crowdsourcing on Twitter. Major reservations refer to the platform’s low credibility and lack of trust. The research draws on testimonies from journalists (semi-directive interviews), which shed light to the way they perceive their practices. Analyses of articles written by the interviewees are also included, with the aim to better understand how Twitter-originated quotes are incorporated in their texts.