TechCrunch has been saying for a long time – at least since November last year – that Twitter is an emerging source of news. Recent tragic events have only served to emphasise this.
As a result, this fact is now gaining traction amongst major news outlets and they are now paying special attention to Twitter. The latest example is the below leaked memo to Sky News staff in the UK, circulated to all staff yesterday.
We already know plenty of journalists are on Twitter and use it to hunt down stories. Hell, I’ve been doing it since 2006.
But the fact that a major news organisation like Sky News has now recognised it needs a dedicated person – Ruth Barnett is now their “Twitter correspondent”, possibly the first for by a 24hr TV news channel – to scour Twitter for potentially breaking news stories, speaks volumes. It also serves as a warning to those who might think that what they say on Twitter “in the clear” (in public) will go unnoticed by the wider world.
But it also raises interesting issues. The mainstream news media is watching us on Twitter. We in turn are watching them. But unlike the old days, you can block people on Twitter. Will Twitter users start to block journalists they don’t want to be followed by? Will news outlets start to not declare their Twitter profiles, in order to avoid this?
However, in their favour it’s great to see Sky News actually getting into Twitter. And at least they can now co-ordinate tea-runs via their tweets. Maybe Twitter’s useful for something after all?
This story will run and run…
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THE POWER OF TWITTER: The Twitter phenomenon continues to explode. A phono with an eyewitness in Lahore yesterday came to us through Twitter. Last night’s breaking story on the death of a Briton in the Alps came to us from Twitter. The first phone on the Buffalo plane crash came from Twitter. The first photo of the Hudson River rescue came from Twitter. Convinced?
The Online team is using Ruth Barnett as a “Twitter correspondent” – scouring Twitter for stories and feeding back, giving Sky News a presence in the Twittersphere. If you don’t understand Twitter and would like a demonstration of its power as a newsgathering tool, the Grand Master of Twitter, Jon Gripton, is running a session in Meeting Room 5 next Tuesday at 1400.
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UPDATE:
Sky News has now got in touch to officially confirm my story that they’ve appointed a ‘Twitter Correspondent’. Ruth Barnett will take up her new role from Monday 16 March 2009. Although their original memo says she was pretty much already doing this, right? [Update: SkyNews.com Editor @JonGrip calls it an "appointment" with an obvious nod and a wink].
Does she get a pay rise? I somehow doubt it. Curiously they released a picture of her in front of YouTube. Did anyone check that? More importantly they claim Sky News “has been using Twitter as a valuable medium for newsgathering since July 2007. If that’s the case then it took them a hell of a long time – until October 21st in fact – to get a SkyNews account on Twitter. According to comments below they have indeed had this account since July 2007.
Meanwhile, “Sky” on Twitter is a Mr Sukij, possibly in the USA. Valuable account that…
Not a real job.
“TechCrunch has been saying for a long time – at least since November last year – that Twitter is an emerging source of news….As a result, this fact is now gaining traction amongst major news outlets”
Was it just before or after the Mumbai Terror Attacks that you made this seer-like prediction, therefore alerting the world media to your brilliant conclusion?
Er, *Read the link*. We said it way before that. That was just a story to re-iterate the fact.
Jules, she already works for Sky News you muppet.
Shouldn’t we be getting paid then?
Alrighty then.
God knows what crazy tweets they’ll be rushing to the news desk
Sky News – not wrong for long…
Awesome news. Or is it?
Can’t see this lasting long. Twitter is just one (hip) part of a large jigsaw. Journalists should be listening across a wide range of sites, not just Twitter.
In one sense the job brief, as you’ve described it above, is not very ambitious – simply focussing on one service. That said, the journalist kinda has to listen to everything rather than a single beat – which is a lot tougher and very random… but, what with all the trending tools and wotnot that could be pretty easy too.
What Sky should really be doing is getting all their journalists up to speed on how to listen across a very broad spectrum of media and online tools, not just the hippest one at the moment.
Some of those journalists might get into Twitter, most probably won’t. That isn’t important. What is important, and from the memo they’ve at least figured this bit out, is the hacks need to learn the listening skills.
Getting into the culture a bit will help the learning curve, but it’s not essential for doing the journalism.
IMH-interested-O-as a media trainer
Intrigued by the line about when @SkyNews “joined” Twitter. It’s wrong.
We had an account from early in 2007 as @sky_news and consolidated it to @skynews in summer ‘07.
Did @TechCrunch only join Twitter on March 20th 2008? I doubt it. But if you go to the end of their timeline it would suggest that:
http://twitter.com/TechCrunch?page=320
Maybe there’s a difference between getting to the 320th page of someone’s archive and the date their account was formed. I’d say so.
All right, all right, you win. However, a feed to Twitter is not the same as using it for new gathering. Enjoy.
To be honest I’m a bit confused now Mike.
You’ve acknowledged that they actually did have an account, yet obviously not quite enough to change the article which says they didn’t. I guess it gets in the way of the story a bit
Also, whilst you’re right that having an account doesn’t prove they’re using Twitter to gather news, you were the one saying that not having one showed that they weren’t. Now that it turns out that they did you’re revising your position to “yeah, well you might not be using it” ?
For what it’s worth, I’m skeptical that they’ve been using it as a ‘valuable medium’ for that long too – but these types of announcements always extend the truth in some way and it’s not the worst I’ve seen.
P.S. Still not a real job.
Calm down – have updated the post.
Lots of nitpicking going on with this news item. Funny isnt’ it?
Those who are using a free service become the self appointed critics of those who embrace a site.