In a research report published by McKinsey Global Institute (2016), up to 162 million people in Europe and the United States (that’s 20% to 30% of the working age population) are undertaking some form of independent work. And this figure is set to rise to 43% by 2020. Millions of people assemble various income streams and work independently, rather than structured payroll jobs. The independent workers that this article focuses on fit into two segments: free agents, who actively choose independent work and derive their primary income from it: casual earners, who use independent work for supplemental income and do so by choice (McKinsey Global institute 2016).
A recent study involving in depth interviews on content analysis found out that journalists use Twitter in a conversational way (Bremms, Temmerman, Graham, Broersma 2017). The question is, who are they talking to?
The study done by Bremms, Temmerman, Graham and Broersma in 2017 found that they interacted mostly with the public, i.e. 46.8 per cent of the total @-replies were directed to citizens. Of the total @-replies, 31.8 per cent were directed to other journalists and 19.9 per cent of the total @-replies to professional contacts such as experts, public relations practitioners, authorities, celebrities, politicians and businesses.
Freelance journalists clearly interacted more with journalists from other news outlets (30.7 per cent) than the employed journalists (24.3 per cent) did. Employed journalists communicated often with journalists from their own news outlet (9.6 per cent). Freelancers also had significantly more interaction with professional contacts (21.8 per cent) than the employed journalists (16.4 per cent).
The results also showed that there are three main elements that structure freelance journalism on Twitter. As a stage, as Goffman indicates, there is a front and back region. The first can be associated with the public areas of the platform, i.e the news feed, trending pages and open profile. The latter is associated with private messaging (DM’s) or locked Twitter profiles. Performers control their image at the front/public platform. This platform is all about outreach, how much of the audience one can engage with. When this stage is well built, it generates traffic and easily keeps audience attention. The more people that engage with and retweet the freelance journalist, the larger this stage grows.
The second stage, a necessity, is the audience. The @reply was the most used type of tweet in the study, showing Twitter to be an interactive medium of communication where freelance journalists and other users actively engage in discourse about various topics, personal or professional. According to Molyneux (2014, 12), journalists who discuss professional matters on Twitter have broken down the fourth wall between the media and the audience by increasing intimacy through perceived interpersonal communication and developing a personal brand in the process. Building a strong connection with one’s audience is an optimal way to create brand and customer loyalty.
The final and most vital element in the construction of a personal brand is the performer, which is, in this case, freelance journalist. The way the employed journalists presented themselves seemed to differ from how the freelance journalists did. In the study, freelance journalists used Twitter significantly more in an interactive and personal way: they argued more often with other users and shared more non-professional details. The employed journalists, on the other hand, were shown to be loyal to the news outlet they work for by often sharing news written by their colleagues. It was not a surprise to see that most of the employed and freelance journalists seldom promoted their own work in an explicit way. The act of personal branding seems to be best performed in a subtle and authentic way.
There are limitations to this study. This focus is on freelance journalists that keep active on Twitter who made it possible for the respective parties to carry out the analysis of the content posted and it’s correlation to the personal branding. The past two decades have witnessed a sharp increase in the use and popularity of social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been embedded into the structures, forms and processes of everyday communication (e.g. Duggan, Lenhart, Madden and Ellison 2015). Journalism is one of the fields of traditional media that has come to terms with the changes brought about by social media within the use and production of news.
In the past, journalists within a democratic society were considered to be society’s watch dogs. This is not the case anymore. Watch Dogs are everywhere today. From meme pages, to tik tok channels, what in the past would have needed to be gotten from a traditional journalist, is now gotten within seconds of typing/talking.
Therefore, journalists are forced to redefine their public task in an online environment (Bremms, Temmerman, Graham, Broersma 2017). The ever expanding frame of the internet has made it possible for individuals to become independent online personas rather than names under articles. It is important to view other freelance journalists as allies (Solomon 2018). This helps to create a network and keep in line with the people in the same field as you. Joining groups on platforms such as Facebook, Discord, Reddit, Twitter is a good way to do this. Linked In connections as well are useful for building networks with other freelance journalists and discussing different industry dynamics in order to harness a good support system.
BREMMS, C., TEMMERMAN, M., GRAHAM, T., BROERSMA, M. 2017. Personal Branding on Twitter. Digital Journalism. 5 (4)
DUGGAN, M., ELLISON, B,N., LAMPE, C., LENHART, A., and MADDEN, M.. 2015. Social Media Update 2014. Pew Research Center. Accessed August 14, 2015. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/ [Google Scholar]
SOLOMON, G., 2018. Five things to know before becoming a freelance journalist. [online] FORBES [03/03/2021]. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gretasolomon/2018/07/21/five-things-to-know-before-you-become-a-freelance-journalist/?sh=2d79ae0d34e6
MCKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE., 2016. Independent work: Choice, necessity, and the gig economy. [online]. MCKINSEY [05/03/2021]. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/independent-work-choice-necessity-and-the-gig-economy#
Molyneux, Logan. 2014. “What Journalists Retweet: Opinion, Humor, and Brand Development on Twitter.” Journalism 1–16.
©Keren Obara Mar 2021
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