Read on Twitter
New research out today co-authored with my @astonSSH colleagues Killian Mullan & @GaryJFooks in which we examine the Twitter networks of @BBCNews journalists. Accompanying Guardian article here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/02/bbc-journalists-twitter-study-reporters
We look at the MPs 90 BBC journalists follow & interact with on Twitter based on data extracted in early 2019, if you can remember that far back. Some headline findings...
The group of MPs most followed & interacted with by BBC journalists were this lot, followed by the Lib Dems. Seems to confirm the broad centrist orientation of the BBC.
By contrast, the parties based outside of England are hardly followed or mentioned by the BBC's UK journalists (some figures on that in the Guardian piece).
As for the two main political parties, Conservative MPs were more followed by BBC journalists than Labour MPs, despite the latter having more followers on Twitter & being more active on the platform.
We also look at party factions. In the case of the Labour Party, what we find is that BBC following was concentrated among the most anti-Corbyn MPs.
Corbyn himself had less BBC followers than Ed Miliband, Tom Watson, or Chuka Umunna.
Corbyn himself had less BBC followers than Ed Miliband, Tom Watson, or Chuka Umunna.
In summary we find: an orientation towards England over the other nations of the UK; the ruling party over the opposition; and the centre & the right over the left. Here’s the paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1852099?journalCode=rjos20
