Journalism on Twitter

Nowadays, I’m hardly surprised when I see stories in newspapers because it’s very likely that I already found out about it on Twitter.

I made my Twitter account in 2010 but started using the platform properly in 2011, the year of the London Riots. The reason why I mentioned the riots is because Twitter was buzzing during that time. (Not saying it was a good thing, of course!) I was so interested in how quickly information was being shared. I remember my sister being on Twitter at the time and she would find out information before it made the news. What struck me the most was being able to read people live-tweeting what they were witnessing. Soon after, I decided to make an account to see what was happening.

According to a digital journalism study (2013), 59% of journalists worldwide use Twitter and usage is highest in the UK, France, Spain, Canada, Australia and the US. And now there are news organisations that are using Twitter to post links from their websites.

If you take a look at the Twitter accounts of BBC & Sky News, they just simply post links from their sites and don’t interact with their followers. The only information they give is the headline. This is a way of attracting people to click the link and they will get more hits on their website. Sky News have their own policy – which bans their journalists from tweeting/retweeting anything that is non-company related. This includes avoiding retweeting what other news organisations have tweeted too. I sense rivalry here…

However, other news organisations are different. I follow @AJStream which is Al Jazeera’s other twitter account aimed for citizen journalism purposes only. They have dedicated an account for crowdsourcing and getting as much interaction as they can. It is connected to their daily TV show ‘The Stream’ – where they have live debates about different topics and tell their viewers to join in by tweeting them. I prefer Al Jazeera’s way of tweeting. I think it’s okay for journalists to interact with people and have conversations with them. No need to be reluctant to do so.

Twitter became particularly useful for journalists who want to find stories and same goes for the readers too – who can just click on links that are posted from their phone. It has made reading news a lot easier and faster for the readers, especially those who now prefer browse online rather than buying a copy from the local shops.

It can give anyone the chance to report what is happening and this links to citizen journalism. An Egyptian man tweeted this during the revolution in 2011: “If you are in Cairo and you were waiting for something to happen to go to the protest. Its real. Time now to go. #Jan25 # Egypt”

That tweet led hundreds of people onto the streets of Cairo in the hopes of ending Hosni Mubarak’s thirty year rule. By using the hashtags #Jan25 and #Egypt, his tweet was connected to a twitter feed. So if another Twitter user wants to find out what is happening during a major event/incident, they can find out information just by clicking that hashtag. He used Twitter to inform others about the protest through real time tweeting about what is about to happen. Although, he may not be a journalist himself, it was about being at the right place at the right time. And this will eventually help journalists find stories by contacting witnesses.

“I think most journalists would view Twitter as an opportunity for two-way communication and newsgathering source and as a key distribution tool in today’s world of digital journalism” – Keeble