Year
2019
Season
Summer
Paper Type
Master's Thesis
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Communication
NACO controlled Corporate Body
University of North Florida. School of Communication
Committee Chairperson
Dr. John Parmelee
Second Advisor
Dr. Stephynie Perkins
Rights Statement
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Third Advisor
Dr. Natalyia Roman
Department Chair
Dr. John Parmelee
College Dean
Dr. George Rainbolt
Abstract
This study expands Twitter interactivity research in the area of public relations. A content analysis of tweets from public information Twitter accounts in Florida counties examines the degree to which county public information officers interact with the publics on Twitter. Engagement on Twitter is examined using a coding scheme adapted from previous research (McMillan, 2002; Otterbacher, Shapiro, & Hemphill, 2012; Parmelee & Deeley, 2017), which is a more sophisticated measure of interactivity than merely counting the presence of replies and retweets. Findings indicate that when public information officers engage in mutual discourse, or the exchange of information in two-way communication, it is primarily with citizens. However, the findings indicate that mutual discourse is the type of communication least likely to be employed on Twitter.
Suggested Citation
Scott, Jessica B., "Tweeting in Public: How Florida's Public Information Officers use Twitter to Engage the Publics They Serve" (2019). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 897.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/897
Included in
Mass Communication Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons
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