Tweetin’ Troubles

Tweetin’ Troubles

Has anything you have ever posted on Twitter been reported in the local press? How do you feel about journos being able to pick and post tweets as they wish?

June 14, 2011 4:25 by shafeer

There is an interesting blog post on Alex McNabb’s Fake Plastic Souks this morning, concerning the freedom of expression on Twitter. In his post, he was referring to an article from 7days which blasted the recently posted pictures of footballer John Terry and his wife Toni OTT PDAs during their holiday in the capital this week.

And though McNabb argues that 7days highly distorted the reaction to the pictures by selectively picking tweets to make their case, we find his second point more interesting. I.e.: should journalists be allowed to republish tweets in the media: “If you’re a-tweetin’, there’s nothing to stop a newspaper using your tweets in a story. You have spoken and done so in public and on the record. And like anyone who goes on the record, your opinion can be used in any way whatsoever, including out of context or as part of a story that distorts your intention. That’s what makes going on the record so potentially dangerous.”

Interesting point there Alex, but then again Twitter is still a baby as far as journalism is concerned –we are still figuring out the rules as we go. And while some journalists are already aware that the growing importance of social media in a reader’s media consumption is forcing their roles to evolve, sadly, there are still some who are still playing catch up.

Hopefully, the industry will eventually get a grip on curation of content and creating a special role for itself in the social media environment—that is, connecting the dots for readers and painting a more informed and analytical point-of-view for them.

For now, we suppose we’ll be seeing a lot more OTT ‘tweet coverages’ from media trying hard to ‘get’ with the ‘kids’

We want to know your opinion on the matter. Has anything you have ever posted on Twitter been reported in the local press? And what role do you think tweets will have to play in the future?