Newswires continue to have an edge over Twitter when breaking major news ... - Science Recorder

A recent study indicates that news agencies continue to have an edge over Twitter when it comes to being first with the news. The research investigated the reporting of news events via Twitter compared to newswire services, finding that while Twitter has been known to occasionally report breaking news first, when it comes to major events there remains little evidence that it will replace more traditional news outlets. With reporting, the main benefits of Twitter are to bring additional coverage of events, and sharing interesting news items to a niche audience. News items with a short lifespan, like local sports results, have also found an advantage in the social media site. Led by Dr Miles Osborne, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow developed a software algorithm to track Twitter activity. In the summer of 2011, they used this algorithm to study over 50 million tweets in an 11-week period, examining messages relating to major news items. These were then compared with news outlet outputs for the same period. Tracked newswires consisted of the BBC, CNN, Reuters and the New York Times, all of which seek to gain a competitive edge by breaking news stories first, thus setting the news agenda, In breaking high-profile news, neither Twitter nor newswires was regularly faster than the other. However, their findings show that Twitter consistently outperformed newswires for speed for sport and disaster-related events. The researchers also identified a large number of minor news items featured on Twitter that had been largely ignored by the mainstream media. The study found that both Twitter and traditional news outlets have their own strengths when it comes to news delivery. Where Twitter can bring added value is by spreading the word on events that might not otherwise receive any media attention, and for bringing a local perspective to major news events. The research was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It is set to be presented later this week at the 7th International AAAI Conference on "Weblogs and Social Media" in Boston. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHpSjZFuCm1TERY3ACsLwqheoQ3GQ&url=http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/newswires-continue-to-have-an-edge-over-twitter-when-breaking-major-news-study-finds/

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