Twitter as Mythmaker In Storytelling: The Emergence of Hero Status by the Boston Police Department in the aftermath of the 2013 Marathon Bombing
Keywords:
Twitter, myth, hero, social media, police, Boston Marathon, storytellingAbstract
Early adopters of Twitter include traditional news media and government entities. Through a close examination of tweets, this critical study focused on how the Boston Police Department employed traditional informational storytelling, usually reserved for the news media, to narrate the mythical archetype of “hero” in its tweets during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. A significant finding in this study is that Boston police exercised not only its physical might, through pursuits and a highly visible arrest, but also its influence to maintain social order during and after the crisis. Although Boston police may not have actively sought “hero” status in the week-long pursuit of suspects, this study concludes that an analysis of police tweets helped fashion heroic imagery. There are serious implications for journalism because Twitter affords opportunities for non-traditional, primary “storytellers,” such as Boston police, who compete for social media attention with unfiltered content in times of crisis.
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Garner, J. (1998). We interrupt this broadcast. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
Global Web Index Twitter now the fastest growing social platform in the world. (2013, January 28). Retrieved from GlobalWebIndex.com: https://www.globalwebindex.net/twitter-now-the-fastest-growing-social-platform-in-the-world/
Goldstein, S. (2013, April 27). Wrecked boat used as accused Boston bomber’s hideout sparks online fundraising effort for the owner, who found him there. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 28, 2013, from nydailynews.com: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/boat-boston-bomb-suspect-standoff-wrecked-article-1.1324526
Greenburg, C. (2013, April 20). Red Sox ceremony: Boston honors victims, police; David Ortiz says 'this is our f--king city.’ Retrieved from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/20/red-sox-ceremony-david-ortiz-boston_n_3123316.html
Hardt, H. (2004). Myths for the masses. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Keller, J. (2013, April 26). How Boston Police Won the Twitter Wars During the Marathon Bomber Hunt - BusinessWeek. BusinessWeek. Retrieved from BusinessWeek.com: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-26/how-boston-police-won-the-twitter-wars-during-bomber-hunt#p1
Lule, J. (2001). Daily news, eternal stories: The mythological role of journalism. New York: The Guilford Press.
McCue, T. (2013, January 29). Twitter ranked fastest growing social platform in the world. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2013/01/29/twitter-ranked-fastest-growing-social-platform-in-the-world/
McGwire apologizes. (2010). Retrieved from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607
Memmot, M., & Peralta, E. (2013, April 19). 'The Hunt Is Over:' Police Apprehend Marathon Bombing Suspect : The Two-Way : NPR. Retrieved from NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/19/177885868/shots-explosions-heard-as-boston-manhunt-continues
Mutzabaugh, B. (2013, July 8). Asiana Flight 241 attendants lauded as ‘heroes’ [Web Log Post]. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/07/08/asiana-flight-214-attendants-lauded-as-heroes/2497925/
O’Donnell, V. (2013). Television criticism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ohman, J. (2013, April 20). Boston heroes. Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/04/19/editorial-cartoon-boston-heroes/cK6r6YPFNLUpbzQq4AcgnJ/story.html
Perteritas, B. (2012, October 9). Seattle police use neighborhood Twitter accounts. Retrieved from Governing The States and Localities: http://www.governing.com/idea-center/Seattle-Police-Use-Neighborhood-Twitter-Accounts.html
Pew Internet. (2012, May 31). Twitter Use Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from PewInternet.org: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Twitter-Use-2012/Findings.aspx
Progressive leaders and records. (2013). Retrieved from Baseball Reference: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_progress.shtml
Sacchetti, M. (2013, April 17). Investigators scour the area for any clues. Boston Globe, p. A16.
Sampson, Z. T., & Reiss, J. (2013). Apprehnsion of suspect followed by cheers and relief. Boston Globe, p. B1.
Silverblatt, A., Ferry, J., & Finan, B. (2009). Approaches to media literacy: A handbook (2nd ed.). New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
Twitter. (2013, March 21). Celebrating Twitter #7 Twitter Blog. Retrieved from blog.twitter.com: https://blog.twitter.com/2013/celebrating-twitter7
Twitter. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved from Twitter: https://twitter.com/about
Wallacki, T., & Cramer, M. (2013, April 19). Detectives scour video, photos for data. Boston Globe, p. A24.
Welsh, T. (2013, April 19). Did the media botch the Boston bombing? US News and World Report. Retrieved from usnews.com: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/04/19/has-media-coverage-of-boston-marathon-bombings-been-responsible
Williams, M. (2009, January 7). Governments use Twitter for emergency alerts, traffic notices and more. Retrieved from Government Technology: http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Governments-use-Twitter-for-Emergency-Alerts.html
Zillgitt, J. (2013, June 19). LeBron James: ‘Best game I’ve ever been a part of.’ USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/playoffs/2013/06/19/lebron-james-takes-over-fourth-quarter-leads-heat-over-spurs/2437119/
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2014-06-24
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