Twitter Feud: Accurate News Source of Just Another Social Media Site?

Lily Bradley

lb323013@ohio.edu

@_lilybradley 

As Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel mentioned in their book The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, the purpose of journalism is defined as the function the news plays in the lives of everyday people. There is no question that today's fast paced society is technology driven - consumers want the latest information in the quickest way possible. Not only do they want to receive their news quick, but they want it in the most convenient way possible. To get that information quickly and conveniently, more people now than ever are turning to Twitter for their news coverage; but can Twitter really serve as an accurate news source? Or is it merely just another social media site? 

Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has taken the world by storm. Yet a great deal has changed in the world since 2006, and the function of the social media site has changed as well. Twitter is no longer about asking what shoes you should wear, as Anderson Cooper mentioned in the video shown above. Instead, Twitter provides a constant conversation. It allows consumers to be in control of their own media intake and gives users the ability to produce their own content. In addition to media intake, Twitter provides an outlet for journalist and civilians to communicate in real time.

The best example of Twitter's power in media coverage comes in times of breaking news. Take for example, the Boston Marathon Bombings. News of the attack broke on Twitter from bystanders at the finish line. Once published on Twitter, the news spread quickly.

photo via chatterbuzzmedia.com 

But the story doesn't stop there. People continued to tweet updates as the story progressed. The Boston Police Department sent out this tweet when they forced the suspect into custody.

photo via thejournal.ie

And again, the story continued as Dzhokar Tsarnaev was put on trial. 

photo via beforeitsnews.com

140 characters doesn't seem like much, but it's really all you need. A news story starts to take shape after five or six updates of 140 characters... that's the beauty of Twitter. It is exactly what people want - it is 140 characters of the most important update of a story. And when there is a new update? There is a new tweet composed letting you know the newest, most important, up-to-date information available literally right at your fingertips. It creates a "news flow," ideal for consumers and reporters alike.

Journalism is an ever-changing field. As time and technology change, journalism will change too. Just think about it's evolution already: print to online, radio to television, now add nightly newscast to twitter update. Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Media Controls the Way We Live and Do Business, said it best, "We don't have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it." Social media will only continue to grow, forcing journalist and consumers alike to not only view it as an accurate news outlet, but also use it as an accurate news outlet.