Is Twitter the real news outlet for the 21st century?

Many users have become accustomed to clicking on Twitter when news breaks. There, they can find a sea of reaction, commentary and links to actual articles.

The popular technology blog TechCrunch recently questioned whether Twitter is “the CNN of the new media generation.”

“Twitter absolutely changes the media landscape,” said Ross Dawson, author and communications strategy analyst. “I like to refer to Marshall McLuhan's description of media as 'an extension of our senses.' Now, Twitter is extending our senses to tens of millions of people who are often right on the scene where things are happening.”

Ashton Kutcher, one of Twitter's most popular users, in an earlier Web video evoked the rhetoric of a revolutionary: “We can and will create our media.” Kutcher, who declined an interview request, sees Twitter as putting media power in the hands of regular people and -- presumably -- regular movie stars.

But comedian Michael Ian Black, a popular figure on Twitter, notes that while Twitter allows someone to “communicate very directly with people,” it also allows you to keep them “totally at arm's length.”

There are no follow-up questions on Twitter if the user chooses not to hear them. When tweets replace an interview or a press conference, something is lost. Twitter -- where brevity can neatly do away with messy details -- can thus be used to control one's message and one's image.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong, for example, has caused some news organizations to question how they approach Twitter. Armstrong, who's in the midst of a comeback bid, often treats Twitter as his primary news outlet.

In May during the Tour of Italy, Armstrong's end-around the media caused some news organizations to boycott his tweets. VeloNews.com, the Web site for a competitive cycling magazine, avoids using Twitter to establish facts without independent sourcing.

“It's one-sided,” said VeloNews.com editor Steve Frothingham, who's a former Associated Press reporter. “It's us just sitting there taking what he's giving. We can't just not ask follow-up questions, we can't ask any questions.”

Frothingham also notes the awkwardness of distribution. Armstrong's followers (more than 1.1 million) outnumber the readership of VeloNews.com. When Armstrong announced the birth of a son in early June on Twitter, he also, in effect, scooped cycling and tabloid outlets.

But truthfulness remains the biggest problem: Those direct, near-instantaneous dispatches are far less reliable than old-fashioned journalism. News that circulates on Twitter, re-tweeted from person to person, can spread quickly -- often too quickly for it to be verified. False rumors spread daily on Twitter.

In the days following Jackson's death, fake reports have frequently had to be knocked down by news organizations that do the fact checking. Dawson notes that established media channels still have a virtual monopoly on credibility.

Erroneous declarations of celebrity deaths have been one trend.

1|2

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email