The rise of Twitter in Journalism

I was weaving myself around the web this weekend and came across an interesting article on the evolving relationship between social media and newsgathering.

A conference session was held back in summer 2009 entitled ‘Twitter as a News Gathering Tool‘.  It was attended by various high-profile news journalists, including Ann Curry of NBC and Rick Sanchez of CNN.  All were Twittering and providing their followers with their take on the news.

Some members of the panel though were concerned how this increasing phenomenon might be undervaluing the quality of news.  According to Robert Scoble (a professional Twitterer), ‘actual news is now coming from citizens versus journalists’.  Here comes a crucial debate: will Twitter (and other social media) replace the standard newsgathering methods we have known for so long?

The traditional panel journalists relies on ‘no, but’.  Though social media may inform the audience faster and easier then accessing traditional broadcast news outlets, it is (as exemplified with citizen journalism) unverified, unconfirmed news reporting.

Here comes the bridge between a journalist and a member of the public.  It is argued that it is the professional journalist that members of the public trust more and rely on for accurate news output, rather than the citizen journalist.  It’s the issue of credibility….BBC, ITN, Sky, CNN, ABC, NBC, etc are all trustworthy and reliable sources. Citizen journalism is not.  Yet the power of social media IS increasing.

All the panellists are Twittering, and like many organisations, see this particular medium as easy-access and a free method of contacting the world at large.  I personally now subscribe to around 10 Twitter feeds, including CNN, AP, Nick Robinson (BBC Political Editor) and the Daily Telegraph, each providing a quick news story update throughout the day.  It used to be that the public had to buy newspaper to read the news, then it was check the internet to keep up with the latest stories, before moving onto mobile phone WAP.  Now, though social media, anybody (including professional journalists) can keep their audience of ‘followers’ right up to date with the news at the simple sending of a text.

As one panellist said, it is better to be ‘rather late and right, than early and wrong’…though this is in contrast to the traditional race of the news agencies – who can be first and accurate.

Read the full article here.

Jason