Abstract:
Despite Twitch’s dominant position in Western livestreaming markets,
institutional journalists rarely produce content on the platform.
This paper investigates how journalistic practices, cultures,
business models, and institutions approach Twitch through three
empirical sites: The Washington Post’s experimentation with
the app, left-leaning political influencer Hasan Piker, and the
pro-QAnon 24/7 “news” channel, Patriots’ Soapbox. The cases
demonstrate how newsmaking on Twitch flouts traditional journalists’
ideological and occupational boundaries, exploiting the platform’s
features and affordances to enroll the audience in a live
broadcasting experience.