S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION ‘Sharing’ the news on Facebook Exploring the differences between news-sharers and non-sharers on the social media site Amber Hinsley Assistant Professor Samantha Johnson Master’s Student

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Research focus  Why do some news consumers choose to share news materials through their social media accounts while others do not?  How are people’s news-sharing decisions tied to their desire to feel connected with others?

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Facebook & sharing news  Facebook has 1 billion active users  People are spending more time with news than ever before – Pew “State of the News Media”  Half of social media users who also are online news consumers get daily news items from the people they follow  One-fourth follow news organizations or journalists on social networking sites – Pew “Participatory news consumers”

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Motivations for sharing news  Uses & gratifications  Escape/diversion  Relationship maintenance  Personal identity  Surveillance

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Research questions  RQ1: What news preference-related differences exist between people who share news links via Facebook and those who do not?  RQ2: What demographic-type differences exist between people who share links stories via Facebook and those who do not?  RQ3: What motivates people to share news links via Facebook?

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Online survey  250 U.S. adults who follow at least one news organization on Facebook  57% female  78% had at least some college  Ages  Mean: 34.8 years old  72% Caucasian  Demographics similar to those in Pew studies of social media users

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ1: News-preference differences General Facebook news use Sharers MNon-Sharers MMean difference How often do you sign in to Facebook specifically intending to find out what’s happening in the news? *** Total number of Facebook friends ** Sharers n=183; Non-Sharers n=65 ***p<.001; **p<.01 Responses for first item based on 7-point scale in which 1 was never and 7 was extremely often Reliance on Facebook for news Sharers MNon- Sharers M Mean difference I can be well-informed by following news organizations on Facebook even if I don’t seek out news in more traditional formats (such as newspapers or television news shows) *** I can rely on my Facebook friends to tell me what’s important when news happens ** I don’t worry about keeping up with the news in more traditional formats because I know news will find me on Facebook *** Sharers n=183; Non-Sharers n=65 ***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ1: News- preference differences Most-valued news org on FB Sharers %Non-Sharers % Local television news station National television network news Cable television network news Local news radio station Local newspaper National newspaper “Fake” cable news program Online-only news organization Cable television news program National television news program National news radio station National news magazine1.10 Local news magazine Sharers n=183; Non-Sharers n=65

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ1: News-preference differences What do you like about what your most-valued news organization does on Facebook? Sharers MNon-Sharers M Mean difference Post headlines throughout the day * Post links to specific types of news ** Respond to comments/questions posted by the public *** Promote contests or discounts sponsored by the news organization *** Post behind-the-scenes information about the news organization ** Post photos and other content from the public ** Post non-news materials that show the news organization’s personality ** Solicit comments to questions posed in posts ** Promote news organization materials like its apps & blogs *** Solicit photos & other content from the public Promote businesses through sponsored advertisements * ***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05 Responses based on 7-point scale in which 1 was strongly dislike and 7 was strongly like

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ1: News-preference differences How often do you interact with your most-valued news organization on Facebook by… Sharers MNon-Sharers MMean difference Read/watch/listen to news materials after clicking on link *** Read headlines from posts but don’t click on link ** Comment on other people’s comments on the news organization’s Facebook page *** Comment on news material posted by the organization *** Comment on questions posed by the news organization *** Post information, comments or questions on the news organization’s Facebook page *** Post a video/photo on the news organization’s Facebook page *** Sharers n=183; Non-Sharers n=65 Responses based on 7-point scale in which 1 was never and 7 was extremely often ***p<.001; **p<.01; *p<.05

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ2: Demographic differences  News-sharers: Younger than their non-news sharing counterparts  Non-sharers: More conservative and more likely to be minorities than news-sharers

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ3: Motivations for sharing news When I share news links, I feel I…Maintaining Relationships Helping Others & Self Interact with people who I trust to help solve my problems Interact with people I trust to turn to in an emergency Interact with people who I can turn to for advice about making important decisions Interact with people who are usually nothing more than acquaintances (reversed) Connect with new people Maintain real-world relationships with my Facebook friends Maintain credibility with my Facebook friends Do not know people well enough to get them to do anything important (reversed) Helpful to my Facebook friends Reflect my own views Influence my Facebook friends News organizations I follow are held in high esteem by my community Eigenvalues % Variance62.62%7.05% Extraction method: Principal axis factoring. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization N=183Cronbach’s α=.93

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION RQ3: Motivations for sharing news When I share news links, I feel I…Maintaining Relationship s Helping Others & Self Maintain online relationships with my Facebook friends Makes me interested in things happening in my community Start conversations with friends in the real world Find out what people not like me are thinking Feel more connected to friend when re-post their news link Diversion from everyday life Share news on subjects that interest my Facebook friends Makes me feel part of a larger community Help my Facebook friends learn more about me Eigenvalues % Variance62.62%7.05% Extraction method: Principal axis factoring. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization N=183Cronbach’s α=.93

S AINT L OUIS U NIVERSITY  D EPARTMENT OF C OMMUNICATION Take-aways  News-sharers & non-sharers have distinct news preferences  News-sharers & non-sharers are demographically different  News-sharers have to two primary motivations  Maintaining relationships  Helping self & others