Australian broadcaster ABC has hired Latika Bourke as its social media reporter - a journalist who will report primarily using social media.

Bourke, who will take on the role in the New Year, was with 2UE, a commercial radio station in Sydney owned by Fairfax Media.

Her "pioneering" use of the microblogging site to report stories reportedly won her the new post. She has more than 10,000 followers and has tweeted more than 20,000 messages on Twitter so far.

The new recruit will work alongside ABC's current radio news and current affairs team and will help the radio channel to explore newer ways of using social media to enhance ABC's political coverage.

ABC's director of news Kate Torney said hiring a social media reporter was in line with the broadcaster's tradition of embracing new ways of communicating with its audience.