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Phone hacking 'is top Twitter topic'

Portland PR and Tweetminster study also claims Sky News digital news editor was UK media's most influential tweeter
Neal Mann
The survey named Sky News digital editor Neal Mann as the most influential Twitter user in the UK media. Photograph: Adam Tinworth/Flickr

British journalists tweeted about the News of the World phone-hacking scandal more than any other subject between July and September, according to a study of more than 330,000 tweets.

The study, sure to prove controversial with journalists whose 140-character dispatches have been overlooked, also lists what it claims are the top 50 media tweeters.

Neal Mann, the Sky News digital news editor, is the most influential UK journalist on Twitter, according to the study, with 100,000 mentions and retweets from his @fieldproducer account in the three months to the end of September.

"I am almost lost for words," Mann told the Guardian. "Undoubtedly the highlight of my career and finally makes all the pains of 'Twitter thumb' worthwhile."

The joint study, by the Tweetminster news website and PR agency Portland, analysed 330,429 tweets and mentions of journalists from UK news groups.

Twitter news hounds – including Ben Goldacre, Rory Cellan-Jones and Krishnan Guru-Murthy – all find themselves among the top-ranked tweeters in the UK, but the list also features some surprise additions. Johann Hari, the Independent columnist, appears at No 42 after allegations of plagiarism arose in June.

Hari appears prominently in the list not because of the number of tweets he has made – he has been off the site since the allegations first emerged – but because he was mentioned so many times in the period, leading up to his high-profile mea culpa in September.

Women are also significantly underrepresented in the list, with the Times columnist Caitlin Moran among a number of other prominent female journalists who are absent. There are only nine women listed in the top 50.

The Guardian is the most prolific UK media tweeter, according to the study, with more than 100,000 Twitter updates in the period, ahead of BBC News with 78,000 and Sky News with 47,000.

Organisation Job Real name Twitter name
1 fieldproducer Neal Mann digital news editor Sky News
2 mediaguardian MediaGuardian.co.uk The Guardian
3 arusbridger Alan Rusbridger editor, the Guardian; editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media The Guardian
4 afneil Andrew Neil presenter, BBC1 This Week; presenter, BBC2 Daily Politics; chairman, Spectator Magazines; chairman, ITP Magazines (Dubai); chairman, World Media Rights (London) BBC
5 guardiannews Guardian News Feed The Guardian
6 bengoldacre Ben Goldacre author, Bad Science column The Guardian
7 bbc5live BBC Radio 5 Live BBC
8 charlesarthur Charles Arthur technology editor The Guardian
9 paulmasonnews Paul Mason Newsnight economics editor BBC
10 gracedent Grace Dent columnist The Guardian
11 faisalislam Faisal Islam economics editor Channel 4 News
12 krishgm Krishnan Guru-Murthy news presenter Channel 4 News
13 ruskin147 Rory Cellan-Jones technology correspondent BBC
14 suttonnick Nick Sutton editor of BBC Radio 4's The World at One, The World This Weekend and What The Papers Say BBC
15 iankatz1000 Ian Katz deputy editor The Guardian
16 commentisfree Jessica Reed assistant editor, Comment is Free The Guardian
17 bglendenning Barry Glendenning deputy sports editor The Guardian
18 xtophercook Chris Cook education correspondent Financial Times
19 tim Tim Bradshaw digital media correspondent Financial Times
20 archiebland Archie Bland foreign editor Independent
21 guardiantech Guardian Tech Feed The Guardian
22 jemimakiss Jemima Kiss media reporter The Guardian
23 estheraddley Esther Addley senior news writer The Guardian
24 inglesi Piers Scholfield BBC World Service journalist BBC
25 holysmoke Damian Thompson editor, Telegraph blogs Daily Telegraph
26 henrywinter Henry Winter Daily Telegraph football correspondent and columnist for the Sunday Telegraph Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph
27 tobyharnden Toby Harnden US editor Daily Telegraph
28 hwallop Harry Wallop retail editor Daily Telegraph
29 skymarkwhite Mark White home affairs correspondent Sky News
30 richardpbacon Richard Bacon Radio 5 Live presenter BBC
31 pollycurtis Polly Curtis Whitehall correspondent The Guardian
32 jackschofield Jack Schofield author, Ask Jack column The Guardian
33 alextomo Alex Thomson chief correspondent and presenter Channel 4 News
34 jonswaine Jon Swaine New York correspondent Daily Telegraph
35 michaelsavage Michael Savage political staff The Times
36 jamescrabtree James Crabtree comment page editor Financial Times
37 j_freedland Jonathan Freedland columnist for the Guardian, presenter of BBC R4's The Long View BBC and the Guardian
38 janinegibson Janine Gibson editor-in-chief, Guardian US The Guardian
39 amolrajan Amol Rajan columnist The Independent
40 benfenton Ben Fenton media correspondent Financial Times
41 lindseyhilsum Lindsey Hilsum international editor Channel 4 News
42 johannhari101 Johann Hari journalist The Independent
43 kate_day Kate Day social media and engagement editor Daily Telegraph
44 shanerichmond Shane Richmond head of technology Daily Telegraph
45 bryony_gordon Bryony Gordon columnist Daily Telegraph
46 edwestonline Ed West journalist Daily Telegraph
47 darshnasoni Darsha Soni Midlands correspondent Channel 4 News
48 niallpaterson Niall Paterson defence correspondent Sky News
49 christopherhope Christopher Hope Whitehall editor Daily Telegraph
50 megpickard Meg Pickard head of digital engagement The Guardian

MediaGuardian.co.uk also came up trumps, beaten only by the indefatigable @fieldproducer to be top UK tweeter. Guardian News & Media editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger, BBC politics heavyweight Andrew Neil and the Guardian News Twitter feed made up the rest of the top five.

The study, dubbed the "NewsTweet Index", is the first in a quarterly analysis to be published by Tweetminster and Portland.

 To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.

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