Press Coverage, Media Influence Using Twitter
Media Relations and Media Strategies With Social Media Tools
Jul 7, 2009
Twitter introduces a dose of democracy to journalism and has become, according to technology blog TechCrunch, “the CNN of the new media generation.” Newspapers and media outlets worldwide incorporate Twitter as an information gathering tool.
Online Reporting Boosts With Twitter Platform
As an April Fool’s Day prank, one newspaper, the Asheville Mountain Xpress, announced it would abandon its print format in favor of being the world’s first Twaper, or Twitter Powered Newspaper.
The joke is sounding closer to reality as Twitter’s use among journalists soars. More media groups use Twitter as a way to break news and to monitor newsworthy events such as elections, power outages and tragedies.
Journalists use Twitter to gather information and deliver the news, some as a more efficient way to answer the same questions and get information and as an evolution from blogs and RSS feeds, reporters told a group at the first 140 Character Conference, held in New York City in June 2009.
Media Influence, News Sources Change With Social Media
A panel of journalists from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Orlando Sentinel and The Village Voice spoke at the conference about how they use Twitter. The remarks by these journalists are instructive for any media relations professional seeking media coverage.
Panelists noted that having a presence on Twitter is being closer to the audience. Twitter as a news source is becoming highly popular. At the same time, panelists discussed the fact that the ivory tower of newspapers is broken down and that Twitter on the local level is a way to build up readership.
Readers are better able to identify with the local newspaper when reporters have a Twitter presence and younger readers in particular are better able to relate to the newspaper as a source of news and not just a traditional newsprint tool that parents and grandparents read.
Online Public Relations Allows for Greater Media Influence
Twitter allows for ongoing working relationships between interview subjects, public relations professionals and reporters. Some reporters are creating private Twitter accounts to find out the inside scoop.
Patrick LaForge, Director of the Copy Desks at The New York Times, told the 140 Character Conference that he is looking for specific, useful information from the people he follows.
John Boitnott, Social Media Strategist from The Village Voice, said that the key is to co-opt Twitter in order to become an authority and have an eagle-eye on hot topics.
Use Proven Public Relations Strategies to Target Press Coverage
Other media outlets are using Twitter as a way of promoting future stories, a development of great note in a media relations strategy. In Vancouver, the city’s two daily newspapers feature BubbleTweet, which are bubble-shaped pop-ups on Twitter pages, to alert readers to stories the newspaper’s reporters are chasing for web publication and the next day’s edition.
From a media strategy perspective, this type of early warning system can quickly become an important tool. Twitter followers alert journalists to events as they happen and then provide inside information on emerging issues.
Reporting is evolving at a rapid pace and the influence that public relations professionals have on press coverage must consider the soaring use of Twitter. This trend proves once again that media coverage improves when strategies target reporters and the tools used in the media business to gather and report news.
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