Blurring boundaries between journalists and tiktokers: journalistic role performance on TikTok

Media and Communica ion (ISSN: 2183–2439) 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 h ps://doi.o g/10.17645/mac. 10i1.4699 A icle Blu ing Bounda ies Be ween Jou nalis s and TikToke s: Jou nalis ic Role Pe o mance on TikTok Ma ía‐C uz Neg ei a‐Rey, Jo ge Vázquez‐He e o *, and Xosé López‐Ga cía Depa men o Communica ion Sciences, Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela, Spain * Co esponding au ho (jo ge. az[email p o ec ed]) Submi ed: 15 July 2021 | Accep ed: 10 Sep embe 2021 | Published: 24 Feb ua y 2022 Abs ac In ecen yea s, media has adap ed o he logic o each new social ne wo k o espond o enewed consump ion habi s and jou nalis s ha e de eloped new oles on hese pla o ms. TikTok is an eme ging pla o m wi h i s own in luence cul‐ u e and in which he main audiences a e he millennial and cen ennial gene a ions. The main objec i e o his s udy is o analyze he p esence o jou nalis s on TikTok h ough he ype o con en and s a egies used in adap ing o his pla o m. The esea ch is based on me hodological iangula ion. Fi s , a da abase o jou nalis s on TikTok (n1=212) was de el‐ oped and he p o iles we e e iewed. Second, a ques ionnai e su ey (n2=63) was de eloped. Finally, a con en analysis (n3=520) o p o iles exceeding 100,000 ollowe s was conduc ed. This esea ch p o ides a i s desc ip ion o he ac i i y o jou nalis s on TikTok, whe e a a ie y o oles, usages, and s a egies a e iden i ied, beyond hose o hei p o ession. They join he o ‐ he‐momen pla o m wi h di e en pu poses ( o in o m, en e ain, o in oduce hemsel es) and a ge s (new audiences, young people, ans). Jou nalis s adap hei p esence o he TikTok social media logic, seeking a space o in luence on a pla o m ha is he na u al habi a o younge gene a ions. Keywo ds in luence ; jou nalism; jou nalis ; social media; TikTok Issue This a icle is pa o he issue “New Na a i es o New Consume s: In luence s and he Millennial and Cen ennial Gene a ions” edi ed by Luis M. Rome o‐Rod íguez (Rey Juan Ca los Uni e si y), San iago Tejedo (Au onomous Uni e si y o Ba celona), and Inmaculada Be langa (In e na ional Uni e si y o La Rioja). © 2022 by he au ho (s); licensee Cogi a io (Lisbon, Po ugal). This a icle is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu‐ ion 4.0 In e na ional License (CC BY). 1. In oduc ion Social ne wo ks ha e ans o med he communica ional scena io, o cing he news media o adap o hei logic ( an Dijck & Poell, 2013) and e o mula ing he jou ‐ nalis ic model (Bell & Owen, 2017). The media indus‐ y has become dependen on pla o m companies o he dis ibu ion o i s con en , edis ibu ing powe , and gi ing ise o he disloca ion o news (Eks öm & Wes lund, 2019). Media companies and p o essionals a e aced wi h he need o join he ends o eme g‐ ing pla o ms o adap o new con en consump ion habi s. Thus, hey ha e adap ed o he epheme al o ‐ ma s o Ins ag am (Vázquez‐He e o e al., 2019), expe i‐ men ed wi h Snapcha o each new audiences wi h hei news (Lee, 2019), de eloped s a egies in p i a e and ins an messaging ne wo ks such as Wha sApp (Boczek & Koppe s, 2020), and a e obse ing how pla o ms such as Twi ch a e enewing he o ms o consump ion o s eam‐ ing con en (Bingham, 2020). TikTok is one o hese new pla o ms, which has bu s on o he in e na ional ma ke wi h i s own logic and language. I is he se en h mos used social ne ‐ wo k in he wo ld (Hoo sui e, 2021), and i became he i s non‐Facebook app o each 3 billion global down‐ loads (Chan, 2021). The in e es in TikTok also es s on he young, belonging o he millennial and cen ennial gene a ions, eaching 24% o hose unde 35 yea s old (Newman e al., 2021). The ise o TikTok has mo i a ed a line o esea ch in which i s o ms o communica ion ha e been s ud‐ ied (Schellewald, 2021), as well as i s celeb i y cul u e Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 146 (Abidin, 2021), poli ical communica ion and ac i ism (Ce i & Ma ín‐Lladó, 2021; Se ano e al., 2020; Vijay & Gekke , 2021), beha io s associa ed wi h hei con‐ sump ion (Ce i, 2021; Oma & Dequan, 2020), o how hese a e a ec ed by he pa icula i ies o he unc ion‐ ing o he social ne wo k (Zulli & Zulli, 2020). A he same ime, he i s s udies on news media’s adap a ion o TikTok ha e been de eloped (Vázquez‐He e o e al., 2020), issues such as misin o ma ion and he ole o ac ‐checke s in he social ne wo k ha e been add essed (Alonso‐López e al., 2021) and speci ic cases ha e been s udied such as how he media ou le s ha e epo ed on Co id‐19 on TikTok (Sido enko‐Bau is a e al., 2020). The analysis o he jou nalis ’s ole pe o mance has been add essed bo h in adi ional and digi al media and social ne wo ks. Conside ing ha TikTok has a di e en i‐ a ed p oposal wi h espec o o he pla o ms, and gi en i s wo ldwide popula i y, i is ime o add ess he pe ‐ spec i e o jou nalis s in his social ne wo k. The main objec i e o he s udy is o iden i y he ype(s) o con en hey p oduce and he s a egies ha jou nalis s imple‐ men in hei adap a ion o TikTok, a new scena io dom‐ ina ed by hei own in luence s in which hey mus igh o he a en ion o young audiences and a ac hem o hei b ands and con en . 2. Theo e ical F amewo k 2.1. Roles o Jou nalis s on Social Media The use o social ne wo ks has become s anda dized o media and jou nalis s, o cing hem o build new ules and pa e ns o use adap ed o he logic o hese pla o ms (Mellado & He mida, 2021). Social media has changed he way news is p oduced and how con en is dissemina ed as well as in e ac ions wi h he audience (He mida, 2016; He mida e al., 2012; Newman, 2011; Newman e al., 2013). The app op ia ion o social ne wo ks by jou nalis s is in luenced by pe sonal mo i a ions and skills, as well as by p o essional and social ac o s (Dje ‐Pie e e al., 2016). In a i s s age, skep ical shunne s esis ed hei use, p agma ic con o mis s adap ed o hem o ake ad an age o some o hei po en iali ies, and en husi‐ as ic ac i is s emb aced hem o use hem in ensi ely o hei in o ma i e wo k, pe sonal posi ioning, and in e ac ion wi h o he use s (Hedman & Dje ‐Pie e, 2013). These di e en le els o app op ia ion a e also obse ed in mo e ecen s udies. Thus, Mellado and Al a o (2020) dis inguish be ween jou nalis s who main‐ ain an adap ed app oach—p ese ing he adi ional oles and alues o hei p o ession while inco po a ing he pla o ms in o hei wo k, i.e., a skep ical app oach— when hey end o ejec social ne wo ks as app op i‐ a e ools o hei p o essional wo k, o a ede ine app oach—when hey end o inno a e and ede ine hei p o essional iden i ies and oles h ough hei ac i ‐ i y in social ne wo ks. The s udy o jou nalis ic oles has been app oached om se e al pe spec i es, s udying hei a i udes o wo king condi ions in di e en coun ies in he 21s cen‐ u y (Wea e & Willna , 2012), concep ualizing hei oles based on no ma i e and p ac ical cons uc s o he p o ession and he place i occupies in socie y (Hani zsch, 2011; Hani zsch & Vos, 2018), de ining jou nalis ic oles associa ed wi h di e en pe cep ions and p ac ices wi h audiences (Hol on e al., 2016), o s udying hei unc‐ ion om a poli ical pe spec i e and in ela ion o poli ‐ ical ac o s (Jamieson & Waldman, 2003). On he one hand, in he con ex o social ne wo ks, Hanusch and Tandoc (2019) poin ou ha he oles assumed by jou ‐ nalis s a e de e mined by ma ke condi ions, he p es‐ su e exe ed on hem, and he concep ion o he audi‐ ence. They dis inguish be ween he ci izen o ien a ion, in which he desi e o public se ice p edomina es, and he consume o ien a ion, which concei es use s as con‐ sume s. On he o he hand, Xia e al. (2020) ela e he oles o jou nalis s on social media o hei concep ion and in ol emen wi h audience engagemen , dis inguish‐ ing be ween hose who main ain a mo e dis an posi ion om use s and hose who ac i ely engage in an exchange ela ionship wi h i . The capaci y o sel ‐iden i y and sel ‐exp ession in social ne wo ks esul s, acco ding o Mellado and He mida (2021), in “no el” oles o jou nalis s. The au ho s di e en ia e be ween he p omo e ole (cha ‐ ac e ized by pe sonal and p o essional b anding, p omo‐ ion o con en , p oduc s, and se ices), he celeb i y ole (when ame is sough h ough exposu e, associa ion, and pe sonal b anding), and he joke ole (when he aim is o be delibe a ely unny and humo is used o commen on he wo k and i s ou ines, o o make jokes abou onesel ). 2.2. No ms, Pe sonal B anding, and he In luence o Jou nalis s on Social Ne wo ks Jou nalism bounda ies a e pe meable and lea e wiligh zones in which jou nalis ic no ms a e challenged and he alues associa ed wi h he p o ession a e enewed, as a esul o he coexis ence o jou nalis s and pe iphe al ac o s (Maa es & Hanusch, 2020). Jou nalis s adap o social media while li ing wi h he adi ional alues and no ms o jou nalism and he new codes o hese pla ‐ o ms (Mellado & He mida, 2021). Al hough he pe sonal exposu e o jou nalis s in he ne wo ks and he in e ac‐ ion wi h use s imp o es he audience’s pe cep ion o he jou nalis in he pe sonal dimension, i has a nega‐ i e impac on he pe cep ion o he p o essional dimen‐ sion and hei news p oduc s (Lee, 2015). Fo his ea‐ son, some media co po a ions es ablish guidelines o he managemen o hei jou nalis s’ pe sonal p o iles, in o de o p ese e he epu a ion and in e es s o he company (Opgenha en & Schee linck, 2014; Sacco & Bossio, 2017). In ecen yea s, jou nalis s ha e be on hei pe ‐ sonal b ands o become news and opinion hubs and Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 147 inc ease hei ma ke alue (B ems e al., 2017), aking ad an age o he social media scena io o hei pe sonal and p o essional pe o mance in on o hei audience. This pe sonal b and is hyb id, since i b ings oge he o ganiza ional, p o essional, and pe sonal iden i ies (Hanusch & B uns, 2017; O o o demgen schen elde, 2017). In hei pe sonal b anding s a egies, jou nalis s can de elop celeb i y iden i ies h ough ame by asso‐ cia ion, asymme ic communica ion, and li es eaming (Olausson, 2018). T adi ional media ha e always had p ominen jou nalis s—o jou nalis s‐in luence s—who ha e pulled hei own eade s o lis ene s o whiche e media hey collabo a e wi h, con ibu ing o ein o cing hei co po a e image (Pé ez Se ano & Ga cía San ama ía, 2021). In social ne wo ks, whe e he in luence economy (Mellado & He mida, 2021) o he a en ion economy (Goldhabe , 2006) p e ail, jou nalis s and in luence s can coexis , making he same ype o con en and sha ‐ ing some common ules, especially in opics such as li es yle (Maa es & Hanusch, 2020). The blu ing bound‐ a ies o jou nalism make i possible o hese ac o s o coexis , o he poin ha jou nalis s a e no opposed o he idea ha social media in luencing can ha e jou nalis‐ ic cha ac e is ics o be conside ed jou nalism (Valkonen, 2019). Howe e , he in luence s main ain as a di e en i‐ a ing elemen “ hei abili y o e ain high isibili y online” and hei “mone izable s a us and po en ial ca ee ha one can pu sue as a esul o hei in e ne celeb i y” (Abidin, 2021, p. 79). Social ne wo ks c ea e a sense o access o o he people’s p i a e li es and his makes in luence s mo e a ac i e han adi ional media pe ‐ sonali ies (Abidin, 2015). 2.3. TikTok: New Logic and New Audience TikTok is he as es g owing sho ideo app wo ldwide. Owned by By eDance, i was launched in 2016 in China as Douyin and hen adap ed o he in e na ional ma ke (Kaye e al., 2021), abso bing Musical.ly in he p ocess. TikTok is cha ac e ized by i s own logic ha di e en ia es i om Ins ag am Reels, YouTube Sho s, By e, o o he mic o‐ ideo apps. The main di e ence o TikTok is i s algo i hm and con‐ sump ion expe ience. Unlike o he pla o ms, he use does no see as a p io i y he ecen con en o he accoun s hey ollow, bu ins ead hey a e shown he con en ha he app’s algo i hm selec s on he Fo You Page, in a con inuous, ne e ‐ending succession o ideos. TikTok’s algo i hm makes i possible o any ideo om any use — ega dless o hei numbe o ollowe s— o be shown on his homepage. De e mining ac o s o achie e his isibili y and i ali y seem o be he use o end‐ ing sounds and hash ags, o he numbe o in e ac ions— likes,commen s,sha es—achie edby he ideoinagi en ime among a educed g oup o use s (Klug e al., 2021). TikTok’s own language and logic b ing wi h hem new s a egies o gaining isibili y and becoming an in lu‐ ence on his social ne wo k. Abidin (2021) explains ha i ali y is sough wi h e e y pos , so use s a e no o ced o main ain a consis en and cohe en pe sonali y o s yle. The unc ioning o TikTok also equi es a apid abil‐ i y o adap o he ends o he momen and o he di ‐ e en subcul u es and communi ies o he ne wo k. The con en on he social ne wo k, cha ac e ized by i s emo ional dimension (Feng e al., 2019), has been di e si ying om being mainly musical o hos ing edu‐ ca ional, social, public heal h, o celeb i y ideos (Klug e al., 2021). The p edominan ypes o ideos a e lip‐ syncs, challenges, due s, and li e s eaming. TikTok is associa ed wi h a young audience, mainly belonging o Gen Z (Pellice , 2019; Schmid , 2019). This is he audience ha ends o be he mos ac i e (Mon ag e al., 2021), especially eenage s looking o expand hei social ne wo k, gain ame, sel ‐exp ess hemsel es, and c ea e an iden i y (Bucknell e al., 2020). The main ea‐ sons o using TikTok a e sel ‐p esen a ion, endiness, escapis addic ion, and no el y (Sche & Wang, 2021). The exponen ial g ow h o he pla o m and i s young audience ha e awakened he in e es o jou nalis ic media, which a e adap ing o he logic o TikTok in sea ch o new audiences and wi h enewed languages (González, 2020; Klug, 2020; Schmid , 2019; Vázquez‐ He e o e al., 2020; Za a ano, 2019). Jou nalism seeks i s place in his eme ging pla o m (Sido enko & He anz, 2020) and jou nalis s use hei pe sonal p o iles o expe imen wi h new ways o dissemina ing in o ma ion (K asa ina & Zolina, 2020), building hei pe sonal b and and in e ac ing wi h a new audience. 3. Me hods Wi h he aim o disco e ing he p esence o jou nal‐ is s on TikTok, we de eloped an explo a o y da abase, using sc aping wi h a Py hon ad hoc applica ion. Fi s , we mapped he hash ags #jou nalism and #jou nalis , iden i ying he p o iles in which he use de ines hem‐ sel es as a jou nalis , news ancho , epo e , pho ojou ‐ nalis , TV/ adio hos , o media wo ke in one o se ‐ e al languages: English (500 publica ions e iewed in he hash ags), Spanish (200), F ench (200), and Po uguese (200). Secondly, simila p o iles sugges ed by he pla ‐ o m o hose use s wi h mo e han 50,000 ollowe s we e e iewed (and hose sugges ed in his case we e e iewed in u n). Finally, 18 ac i e p o iles om he col‐ labo a i e lis p omo ed by F ancesco Za a ano (a ail‐ able a h ps://bi .ly/2T4P RI) we e added as we had no ound hem in he sys ema ized sea ch, and his is he i s ini ia i e o collec ing jou nalis s on TikTok. The da abase was upda ed on Feb ua y 27, 2021. The lis o jou nalis s iden i ied on TikTok (n1=212) p o ides a di e se se o p o essionals, om newly c ea ed accoun s o consolida ed and popula p o iles. Judging by numbe o ollowe s, ou s and ou wi h mo e han 1 million (Feb ua y 2021): Ma cus DiPaola (2.6 M), Jessica Pe ei a (1.3 M), Wandha Dwiu a i (1.1 M), and Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 148 Owen Con len i (1.1 M). The sample is in e na ional, wi h use s om 42 na ionali ies (Supplemen a y File), includ‐ ing: Uni ed S a es (49), B azil (30), Uni ed Kingdom (17), Pe u (13), F ance (9), A gen ina (8), and Indonesia (8)— acco ding o he Digi al News Repo 2021, Indonesia and Pe u en e ed he op 5 o use o news on TikTok (Newman e al., 2021). The second phase consis ed o a sel ‐adminis e ed ques ionnai e su ey (Hesse, 2017) sen o he 75 jou ‐ nalis s who ag eed o pa icipa e—89.6% o egis e ed use s in he da abase we e loca ed and in i ed o pa ‐ icipa e. The Like ‐ ype esponse ques ions in he o m use a 1–7 scale so ha he cen al alues a e dis ibu ed a he han on a 1–5 scale. The execu ion pe iod was om Ma ch 8 o Ap il 9, 2021, wi h a esponse a e o 84.0% (n2=63). The su ey sample consis ed o jou nal‐ is s om 25 coun ies, wi h an a e age age o 31 yea s and di e en le els o educa ion (Supplemen a y File). The hi d phase was based on con en analysis, a quan i a i e me hod “ o iden i y and coun he occu ence o speci ied cha ac e is ics o dimensions” (Hansen & Machin, 2013, p. 89), speci ically o e ie e p o ile da a and classi y published con en (Table 1). Fo his pu pose, he sample was limi ed o he 52 p o iles wi h mo e han 100,000 ollowe s ( ep esen ing 24.5% o he egis e ed use s in he da abase, who eached a subs an ial le el o popula i y) in which we analyzed— be ween Ap il 15 and 30, 2021— he 10 mos ecen pos s (n3=520), as he equency o publica ion a ies o each p o ile. P e iously, a p e es was pe o med o design he ypology and also an in e a e eliabili y ana‐ lysis o de e mine consis ency among code s, ob aining “almos pe ec ag eemen ” (𝜅=0.911; p<0.001). Du ing he p e es we de ined hese con en ca ego ies: • “Daily li e” ep esen s scenes o e e yday li e a home o a wo k; • “In o ma ion” is he sec ion ha ga he s news abou cu en e en s, in o ma ion ha is dissem‐ ina ed as an o e iew o sho and concise head‐ lines, and ideos ha explain in g ea e dep h aspec s ela ed o cu en a ai s (such as ongo‐ ing legisla i e o elec o al p ocesses, which can be complex wi hou con ex ); • “Humo ” co esponds o unny con en , silly si ua‐ ions, and jokes, as well as he eac ion o jou nal‐ is s o comical o c azy si ua ions; • “Dance” is used o people dancing in he pe sonal and p o essional sphe e; • “Tips” g oups oge he ad ice, ecommenda ions, and sugges ions (on a a ie y o opics such as ood, heal h, a el, and p o essional and spi i ual de elopmen ); • “P omo ion” ep esen s ideos p omo ing con en o p oduc s; • “Challenge” esponds o TikTok’s own dynamic o ends, in which use s ge in ol ed by pe o m‐ ing ce ain dances, i al ac ions, o demons a ing skills gene ally linked o a song. 4. Resul s 4.1. Jou nalis s on TikTok: P esence, Use, Managemen , and Ta ge Audience The su ey o jou nalis s on TikTok (n2=63) p o ides a no el pe spec i e on hei p esence on his pla o m. The leading eason hey joined TikTok was o each new audiences (50.8%). Howe e , a qua e is simply Table 1. Analysis shee . P o ile Use name Followe s Likes Ve i ica ion Bio Coun y Con en Daily li e Home scenes (pe sonal) Wo k scenes In o ma ion News Headlines Explana ion, summa y, and op ( anking) Humo Funny and silly hings Reac ions, commen s Dance A home/ou doo s A wo k Tips P omo ion Con en p omo ion Ad e ising (p oduc ) Challenge Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 149 he e because hey a e ha ing un (23.8%). The e a e jou nalis s p esen because i is an addi ional channel o epo ing (12.7%) o because i is endy (3.2%). In “o he answe s” (9.5%), some exp essed hei in e ‐ es “in explo ing new pla o ms” and “ o use new s yles o s o y elling” o speci ic objec i es such as o “ igh misin o ma ion.’’ Rega ding he use hey make o hei p o ile (Table 2), he p io i y op ion is “ o p esen and ein o ce my pe sonal b and” (5.8 ou o 7), wi h 46.0% indica ing ha hey o ally ag ee wi h his s a emen . In second place, hey conside showing hemsel es as a p o es‐ sional o he o ganiza ion, media, o p og am whe e hey wo k (5.0), wi h 33.3% o ally ag eeing. The hi d op ion wi h he g ea es consensus is “dissemina ing cu en in o ma ion” (4.3) wi h 22.2% indica ing o al ag eemen . On he o he hand, he e a e wo ac i i ies ha each a high le el o disag eemen : “ o show my daily and pe ‐ sonal li e” and “ o p omo e con en o p oduc s.” Wi h he g ow h o new pla o ms, he managemen o pe sonal social media is becoming mo e and mo e ime consuming. The ime de o ed o his ask each day by jou nalis s (Table 3) a ies signi ican ly in each case, wi h 2–3 hou s being he mos common. Mos spend less han 1 hou pe day only on TikTok (52.5%). Analyzing he ime dedica ed o his pla o m (Table 4), we obse e ha 44% o hose su eyed dedica e a leas 50% o hei daily ime o social ne wo ks. Rega ding he media o p o‐ g ams whe e hey wo k, 32.3% ha e an o icial p o ile and 23.0% o jou nalis s su eyed say ha hei o gani‐ za ions di ec he ac i i y o jou nalis s on hei pe sonal p o iles on social media. I he main eason o being on TikTok is o each new audiences, a key ques ion is whe he he jou nal‐ is s a e a ge ing a speci ic audience. 68.3% a e look‐ ing o a new audience ha does no know hem, while 49.2% a e a ge ing young people o he millennial and cen ennial gene a ions. 36.5% ocus on audiences who a e loyal o hem o hei p og am. Only h ee jou nal‐ is s indica ed o he answe s: young jou nalis s (3.2%) o no a ge (1.6%). Rega ding he adap a ion o hei ac i i y o he logic o TikTok, jou nalis s exp ess hei in ol emen : They in e ac wi h o he use s h ough answe s o hei ques‐ ions, due s, o commen s (5.9 ou o 7; 58.7% “s ongly ag ee”), and pay a en ion o he ends and challenges o he momen when gene a ing new con en (5.0). Rega ding jou nalis ic ac i i y, 44.4% ha e no doub ha TikTok is a sui able pla o m o dissemina ing in o ‐ ma ion (5.8 ou o 7). In he same way, hey unde ‐ s and ha jou nalis ic media should be on TikTok o con‐ nec wi h he younge gene a ions (6.4; 68.3% “s ongly Table 2. Use o p o ile. Use A g “To ally ag ee” (7 ou o 7) P esen and ein o ce my pe sonal b and 5.8 46.0% In oduce mysel as a p o essional om an o ganiza ion, media, o p og am 5.0 33.3% P o ide ips 4.4 22.2% Dissemina e cu en in o ma ion 4.3 7.9% Dissemina e humo ous con en 4.0 7.9% Pa icipa e in challenges and ends 3.7 17.5% Show my daily and pe sonal li e 3.6 20.6% P omo e con en o p oduc s 2.7 6.3% Table 3. A e age ime spen on social media managemen . Time TikTok Social media <1 h day 52.5% 9.8% 1 h day 21.3% 26.2% 2–3 h s day 21.3% 31.1% 4–5 h s day 3.3% 18.0% >5 h s day 1.6% 14.8% Table 4. Time spen on TikTok as p opo ion o o al ime spen on social media managemen . Time on TikTok s. social media Numbe o jou nalis s 100% 9 75.0–99.9% 6 50.0–74.9% 11 25.0–49.9% 14 0.1–24.9% 19 Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 150 ag ee”) and ha jou nalis ic alues can be ans e ed o TikTok and hus u n he jou nalis in o an in luence on his pla o m (6.3; 60.3% “s ongly ag ee”). 4.2. TikTok’s Po en ial o Jou nalis s 4.2.1. Looking o New Audiences Jou nalis s conside ha TikTok’s main po en ial lies in eaching new audiences. This is indica ed by 47.6% o hose su eyed, who allude bo h o eaching new use s in gene al and, speci ically, he younge gene a ions. One o he poin s ha s ands ou is ha he e is an impo ‐ an g oup o people who do no consume in o ma ion in adi ional media such as newspape s, ele ision, o adio, o show no in e es in in o ma ion o a oid news. “The main po en ial o TikTok o jou nalis s is o connec wi h an audience ha does no o a ely uses adi ional media” obse ed one F ench jou nalis . Wi hin his clea objec i e o eaching new audi‐ ences, o 30.2% o esponden s, he g ea oppo uni y o his pla o m is o each younge gene a ions. In a pla o m domina ed by Gen Z, jou nalis s ecognize ha his audience is disconnec ed om adi ional media— and he media om hem—so TikTok is “a way o lea n new ways o communica e news, o keep in ouch wi h younge gene a ions and o keep upda ed,” as an I alian jou nalis obse ed. “Mos media o ganiza ions ha e li ‐ le knowledge o wha younge audiences wan om news so being on TikTok helps you unde s and ha ,” added a jou nalis om Swi ze land. 7.9% conside ha i can be a space o di ec in e ac ion wi h he audience, o ge o know hem, o disco e ele an opics, and o p o ide answe s: “TikTok use s wan in o ma ion and ask many c i ical ques ions which is g ea o us as jou nal‐ is s,” said a head o social media s a egy om Ge many. The pla o miza ion o jou nalism has led o he dis‐ pe sion o con en on hi d‐pa y pla o ms, so jou nal‐ is s a e also looking o ans e audiences om TikTok o o he pla o ms: “This pla o m is a sp ingboa d… o Ins ag am, Facebook and YouTube, o look o b oade jou nalis ic con en .” 4.2.2. Con en Is King, bu Fo m Is Key Twen y‐se en pe cen o he jou nalis s su eyed see TikTok’s po en ial o hei ac i i y in he o ma . On he pla o m, hey highligh en e aining, un, and simple con en , which also allows o he dis ibu ion o in o ma‐ i e and educa ional messages ha a e, abo e all, b ie , “bi e‐sized.” The con en is adically di e en om wha we ha e seen in o he social ne wo ks, also hea ily con‐ di ioned by he algo i hmic ecommenda ion ha domi‐ na es access o con en . Fo his eason, a B i ish jou nal‐ is poin ed ou ha “TikTok could be a g ea pla o m o con en which is no ime‐ amed,” since i is no possi‐ ble o con ol he o de and iming o he ideos shown o use s. The o ma is so pa icula ha one jou nalis de ined i di e en ly om “social media,” as “mic o en e ain‐ men ” and compa ed i o Twi e : “Because i ’s looped, i means people can wa ch i 2–3 imes un il hey ha e abso bed all he con en . Jus as Twi e o ced us o e hink he way we w i e o con ey in o ma ion in 140–280 cha ac e s, TikTok is doing he same wi h ame‐ by‐ ame e ical s o y elling.” 4.2.3. Behind he Came as, Jou nalism P ac ice, and Pe sonal B anding Showcasing he jou nalis s’ wo k and building hei pe ‐ sonal b and is he hi d ac o ha explains hei p es‐ ence on TikTok. Making hei p o essional ac i i y isible and le ing people see wha goes on behind he scenes is whe e 9.5% o esponden s see po en ial. The audience likes o know abou such hings, and i allows hem o “humanize jou nalis s as we a e also no mal people,” as a Canadian jou nalis no ed. I is no only abou showing wha hei daily li e is like; i is also a new space o ind “ ending news s o ies and new oices,” said a social media edi o om he Uni ed S a es, and e en “opinions om ma ginalized g oups,” added a B i ish eelance . Fo 14.3%, i is ano he pla o m on which o es ab‐ lish and g ow a pe sonal b and. Some jou nalis s di ec ly alluded o he e ec on c edibili y: “I can build hei us [o he audience] and hey a e mo e likely o lis en and consume he news,” said a B i ish jou nalis . TikTok’s boos o a jou nalis ’s p o ile ela es o he abili y o dis‐ semina e and i alize con en (7.9%). “I can help in c e‐ a ing a powe ul image o he jou nalis in o de o be ecognized o his o he wo k among he public,” said one Spanish spo s jou nalis . The apid g ow h in ollow‐ e s and iews is an incen i e o 4.8% o he jou nalis s su eyed, who ecognize ha success is mo e a ainable han on o he pla o ms: The each and disco e abili y on TikTok is unpa al‐ leled. Fo an a icle ha is b eaking news, i you a e able o alk you audience h ough he a icle, sha e i on he TikTok pla o m in a c ea i e, ideo‐cen ic, and pe sonable way, i has he oppo uni y o each millions o people wi hin 24 hou s. The shee size o i s each is a social media manage and jou nalis ’s d eam. (US jou nalis ) 4.3. Con en Analysis The analysis o pos s (n3=520) o he 52 use s wi h mo e han 100,000 ollowe s allows us o classi y he con en published by jou nalis s on TikTok and iden i y hei use o his pla o m (Table 5). 28.4% o he pos s co espond o he “daily li e” ca e‐ go y, which includes scenes a home, om hei pe sonal sphe e, such as daily ou ines, amily momen s, pe sonal ca e and beau y, ou i s, ee ime, and opinions. We also Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 151 Table 5. Con en published by jou nalis s on TikTok. Ca ego y Numbe o pos s % Daily li e Home scenes (pe sonal) 75 14.4 Wo k scenes 73 14.0 In o ma ion News 47 9.0 Headlines 1 0.2 Explana ion, summa y, and op ( anking) 51 9.8 Humo Funny and silly hings 74 14.2 Reac ions, commen s 22 4.2 Dance A home/ou doo s 30 5.8 A wo k 43 8.3 Tips 62 11.9 P omo ion Con en p omo ion 19 3.7 Ad e ising (p oduc ) 14 2.7 Challenge 9 1.7 ind wo k scenes, which show e e yday aspec s o hei p o ession: how hey p epa e o a li e show, wha goes on behind he scenes, he asks a epo e pe o ms, answe s o use s’ ques ions abou hei wo k, and mo e. This is he case o Rachael O’Neil showing he i s day a wo k a CBS o Cin hel Fe ei a (Sis ema B asilei o de Tele isão) esponding o a use asking why he e is a delay in li e connec ions o showing behind he came as. In o ma ion occupies he second mos common ca ‐ ego y (19.0%). He e we mus di e en ia e ypes o in o ‐ ma ion: (a) news, i.e., sho ideos in which a cu ‐ en e en is epo ed; (b) headlines o he day; and (c) explana o y con en wi h mo e dep h, summa y, and ankings. A clea example is Ma cus DiPaola ancho ing daily news in sho ideos wi h a close‐up sho o his ace. Al e na i ely, he e is Lisa Remilla d (BEONDTV), who explains in mo e de ail he p ocesses and measu es o US poli ics, o , wi h a mo e opiniona ed one, Robe B eich (Inequali y Media). The adap a ion o jou nalis‐ ic in o ma ion o TikTok is also ound om o he use s, such as Sophia Smi h Gale (BBC) o Max Fos e (CNN), al hough in hese cases i is no he only ype o con en hey sha e. This is ollowed by wo popula ca ego ies on TikTok: humo and dances. Humo (18.4%) appea s h ough unny and silly pieces (jokes, unny ideos) and eac‐ ions o o commen s abou humo ous con en . Dancing (14.1%) is ound bo h in he pe sonal sphe e (home o ou doo s) and in he p o essional sphe e (usually danc‐ ing wi h wo k colleagues on a se ). O he ypes o publica ions include: ips (11.9%), e.g., cooking, eading, coaching, languages, and a wide a ie y o opics; con en p omo ion (3.7%) o i s publica ions o media appea ances; ad e ising o comme cial p oduc s (2.7%); and pa icipa ion in challenges (1.7%)—a key ele‐ men o TikTok ep esen ed a a low equency. 5. Conclusions Jou nalis s ha e had o adap o TikTok as an eme g‐ ing pla o m ha is di e en om o he social ne ‐ wo ks because o i s main audience, language, and logic. The ecen ise o TikTok and i s new logic has led some jou nalis s o de elop an adap ed app oach, p ese ing he adi ional alues o he p o ession, while o he s be on he ede ine app oach, c ea ing new ways o elling he news, pa icipa ing in challenges, o show‐ ing hei humo ous side (Mellado & Al a o, 2020). A sig‐ ni ican p opo ion o hem join wi h he main pu ‐ pose o c ea ing a pe sonal b and and gaining isibili y wi h new audiences—as has happened wi h o he pla ‐ o ms like Twi e (B ems e al., 2017; Sacco & Bossio, 2017)—especially young people. They ace he challenge o cap u ing he a en ion o use s on a pla o m used mainly o en e ainmen and whe e pe sonali ies gen‐ e a e mo e in e es han mains eam news, con a y o wha happens on o he ne wo ks such as Twi e o Facebook (Newman e al., 2021). The de elopmen o hei pe sonal b and on TikTok has a hyb id na u e and combines o ganiza ional, p o‐ essional, and pe sonal iden i ies (O o o demgen ‐ schen elde, 2017), making isible aspec s o hei wo k, he media, and hei pe sonal li es. The same jou nal‐ is does no gene ally main ain a single and cons an ole, bu combines he oles (Mellado & He mida, 2021) o p omo e (when hey seek o ein o ce hei p o es‐ sional and pe sonal b and, p omo e hei in o ma i e con en , o ad e ise a p oduc ), celeb i y (which can occu in hose p o iles ha achie e a high numbe o ol‐ lowe s, ac ing as amous celeb i ies and bene i ing om i in some way), and joke (when he jou nalis c ea es humo ous con en , commen s in a unny way abou hei wo k o li e, idicules hemsel es, o eac s o TikTok’s Media and Communica ion, 2022, Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 146–156 152 own humo ous con en ). As Abidin (2021) explains, i al‐ i y is sough in each publica ion, so use s a e no obliged o main ain a s yle and a ole. They mani es a ele an in o ma i e pu pose ( o in o m, dissemina e, and p omo e con en ), al hough a majo pa o he consume o ien a ion (Hanusch & Tandoc, 2019) is iden i ied as opposed o he public se ice oca ion in he ac i i y o jou nalis s on TikTok, when p o iding en e ainmen o audiences and ad ice, ips, and di ec ions o daily li e. Some jou nalis s’ p o‐ iles each high numbe s o ollowe s, bu no all ha e he same ype o con en : In o ma i e p o iles con e ge wi h o he s ha a e mo e ocused on en e ainmen . In he analysis, we obse ed a a ie y o con en pub‐ lished by jou nalis s, om he adap a ion o hei p o‐ essional ac i i y o mimic he p edominan con en on TikTok: daily li e scenes—al hough jou nalis s disag eed abou showing hei pe sonal li es—in o ma ion, comi‐ cal ideos, dances, con en p omo ion, and challenges. In he ela ionship be ween jou nalis s and he audi‐ ence, he e a e p ac ices ha di e en ia e be ween hose who a e a he away om engagemen and hose who a e ac i ely in ol ed (Xia e al., 2020), espe‐ cially when answe ing ques ions om o he use s abou hei wo k o when pa icipa ing in due s and chal‐ lenges. The e is no e idence o a ele an use o TikTok, a he momen , o o he dynamics o he p o‐ duc ion p ocess ha ha e been s udied in o he ne ‐ wo ks, such as li e‐ epo ing o newsga he ing on Twi e (Can e , 2015), o sou ce sea ch o commen manage‐ men on Ins ag am, Facebook, o LinkedIn (B and zaeg & Chapa o Domínguez, 2018). Howe e , some jou nalis s on TikTok claim o be on he pla o m o keep up o da e wi h new ends o o ge in ouch wi h mino i y g oups. Jou nalis s a e p esen in a new communica ional space, which has i s own pa icula logic, and is he na ‐ u al habi a o he younge gene a ions. Can we say ha jou nalis s a e in luence s on TikTok? On he one hand, some o hem ha e a high isibili y and a la ge commu‐ ni y o ollowe s, hey open a window in o hei p i a e li es, bu hey do no mone ize hei con en —a leas no di ec ly, al hough hey seek o ein o ce hei pe ‐ sonal b and. A c ucial di e ence is ha jou nalis s’ main occupa ion is no hei ac i i y on social media, bu some‐ hing complemen a y o hei job. Ne e heless, jou nal‐ is s and in luence s coexis in he same space wi h sha ed codes. As men ioned abo e, jou nalis s belie e ha hey can ans e jou nalis ic alues o TikTok and become in luence s on his pla o m, in o de o connec wi h he younge gene a ion. This esea ch was de eloped a a s ill‐ea ly s age o TikTok and jou nalis ic explo a ion o he pla o m and i p esen s some limi a ions. Al hough he sea ch was sys ema ized, i was di icul o d aw up a census o all he jou nalis s on TikTok. Mo eo e , he pla o m is s ill used by a mino i y o jou nalis s, no all o hem a e egula ly ac i e on his social ne wo k and he e a e no es ablished codes o conduc . Fo all hese easons, i will equi e new app oaches and analysis in he u u e o e alua e i s consolida ion as a channel o jou nalism and jou nalis s. As has al eady happened on o he social ne wo ks, he pe manence o jou nalis s on he pla o m will end up shaping no ms o common pa e ns o beha ‐ io (Hedman, 2015; He mida & Mellado, 2020), as well as media o ganiza ions de eloping guidelines o hei p o‐ essionals (Opgenha en & Schee linck, 2014). The con‐ solida ion o jou nalis ic ac i i y on TikTok will make i necessa y o s udy he oles and dynamics ha a e es ab‐ lished, as well as he ela ionship wi h audiences and he p edominan news alues on his pla o m, as explo ed on Ins ag am (Al‐Rawi e al., 2021). 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