The role of social networking as a newsgathering tool in the coverage of the Iranian elections in 2009. : IAMCR

This study aims to measure the extent to which social networking was actually used as a journalistic tool by the foreign correspondents covering the Iranian election., and supplemental interviews with journalists, the study will establish to what extent journalists relied on social networking as a source of information, of quotes and sources, and how much actual information flowed through these new channels as opposed to the more traditional ones. The analysis attempts to codify the specifics of coverage as published in the press and to lay a foundation of empirical and usable data with which to approach the broader questions of the impact of social networking on traditional media practices.