Twitter is being embraced as a tool for journalists today, when only a few years ago online media was viewed negatively by many “traditional” journalists. The way information is shared has changed immensely since the beginning of online news services and is being shared at a rapid pace by everyone, not only journalists.

Kyra Kyles, a reporter and columnist for Tribune Redeye and broadcast contributor, says that Twitter inspires the topics she chooses to write about in her column and on her blog.

1. 
   leesy_ @thekylesfiles How useful is Twitter to you as a blogger/ writer? Do you find info here or use it to engage random topics you come up with? 01 May 2010 from web
2. 
   thekylesfiles @leesy_ I’d say a mix. I get story/column ideas and blog topics too. 01 May 2010 from UberTwitter in reply to leesy_

Broadcast journalist Nancy Loo reiterated Kyles thoughts about how to use Twitter as a journalist. Loo added how communicating with others on Twitter lead to news tips, which come in handy for breaking news. Regardless of how information is shared, verification is still necessary and the role of a trained professional will continue to be a valuable asset for the public.

1. 
   leesy_ @NancyLoo Do you use Twitter to find stories and/ or to spread news? 02 May 2010 from web in reply to NancyLoo
2. 
   NancyLoo @leesy_ it’s useful for both. 02 May 2010 from Tweetie in reply to leesy_
3. 
   leesy_ @NancyLoo Is there a story that you found out about on Twitter that the media wouldn’t have been able to pick up otherwise? 02 May 2010 from web in reply to NancyLoo
4. 
   NancyLoo @leesy_ people tweet me story ideas & tips all the time. Searches & lists can provide gr8 insight during breaking news. 02 May 2010 from Tweetie in reply to leesy_
5. 
   leesy_ @NancyLoo How do you verify? Are there false leads being sent your way? 02 May 2010 from web in reply to NancyLoo
6. 
   NancyLoo @leesy_ verify the same as anything else! 02 May 2010 from Tweetie in reply to leesy_

Loo recently became a free agent in the Chicago market as a journalist, but has connected with the public she serves through a strong presence on the web. She maintains her Twitter account on a regular basis and works on various online sites and blogs.

Tsunami, Indonesia by Photojournalist, Karl Grobl (@karlgrobl)

As the tsunami of the digital media revolution engulfs the globe, Journalism’s visual branch is now being played out in two teams; on one end of the spectrum are the citizen photojournalists and on the other end are the professionally trained photojournalists.

Bloggers equipped with camera phones, a basic knowledge of some photo editing software and access to a photo-sharing website are now capable of producing photographs.

What is the impact of this new wave of camera-phone photojournalism on a professionally trained photojournalist?

(@bberwyn) #Colorado #photojournalism -- one a day from @summitvoice: http://wp.me/pJ91e-1Hj #horses #photography

The photograph above has been submitted by a citizen photojournalist (@bberwyn) via Twitpic. The photograph from Indonesia (above-top) is the product of a professional photojournalist (@karlgrobl). Could you tell the difference?

Below is a compilation of my conversation with several media gurus and photojournalists on the topic of Citizen versus Professional Photojournalism?

Marc Karasu (@OneWirefinance) of MAK Digital Marketing and Advertising Consulting has had hands on experience with both old and new media; his portfolio includes the creation of Super Bowl television commercials and Google adword media buys to name a few. He provides below his insight on the explosion of user generated content online.

“Some would argue that the proliferation of user generated content has “cheapened” or “diluted” journalism by taking it out of the hands of pros and turning coverage over to amateurs. I would argue that it has actually helped lift journalism overall as these devices and mediums have made news more immediate, unfiltered and powerful.  This is especially true in countries where there are strong state filters on news. That being said, it is up to professional journalists to properly frame and give background context to the story and the nuances of the players involved, and different sides of the story when they air a video in media,”

Bill Adee (@Bill80), Chicago Tribune’s VP for Digital Stuff also foresees benefits in the co-existence of citizen and professional photojournalists and provides an interesting analogy linking the two.

“I would say the proliferation of mobile photojournalism has affected visual journalism the same way blogs and twitter have affected print/Web journalism. We need to realize what can be done well by citizen photographers and find creative ways to organize and present it for our readers. We also need to realize that there is plenty that can be done well by the full-time trained journalists. The key is to take ego and traditions and conventions out of the equation and made good decisions about who should be doing what,”

Karl Grobl (@karlgrobl), a humanitarian photojournalist has traveled all over the world from Haiti and Cambodia to Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to document relief efforts of global NGOs.

“The proliferation of camera-phone photojournalism means more timely information, although often dubious it’s a double edged sword…there are plenty of great photographers, those who “make it” are good photographers and good business people.”

Ralph Talmont (@ralphtalmont) is a photographer and publishing consultant who is currently leveraging on his 25 years’ of photography, multimedia and publishing experience to create a mobile and web platform combining the three mediums. He digs deeper into the proliferation of Current TV-like citizen journalists’ platforms.

“This is a question which needs to be approached from two perspectives: distribution and access. Three if you count the person doing the shooting of course but I’ll concentrate on two. Camera phones are about to get a whole lot better which will potentially put ‘reporters’ everywhere. Shooting events is one thing, being able to capture the essence of an event is entirely different. So, for news gathering and a general democratization of the process this is great; assuming distribution hubs such as current.tv continue to proliferate since without distribution you have nothing. The other issue is one of ‘quality’ and ‘depth’ and for this you need experience; having a camera in the right place at the right time is half the battle. It needs to be attached to the right eye and heart to be able to tell the story well.”

Here’s my tweetup with Journalist/blogger, @VictoriaAudele who is currently interning at CNN Entertainment:

1. 
   mariayzk Thank you Ms. Beeks for your tweetup on “Blogging for Life”.What’s your take on the Bloggers vs. Journalists debate?@VictoriaAudele 30 Apr 2010 from web
2. 
   mariayzk What’s the solution for anonymous bloggers abusing anonymity to the level of libel? Should anonymity not be an option online?@VictoriaAudele 30 Apr 2010 from web

The proliferation of camera-phone photojournalism has allowed for an unprecedented knowledge sharing experience, where news and images are no longer solely channeled through governments and news broadcasting monopolies. Every person equipped with a camera phone today is able to broadcast news and images or pile them together to compose news stories.

Citizen journalists are more likely to be at the right place at the right time.

Professional photojournalists, on the other hand, have learnt the bible of photo storytelling.

There is no room for competition; it’s simply a knowledge sharing experience between different categories of players.

]]> http://www.twitterjournalism.com/2010/05/02/the-era-of-camera-phone-photojournalism-a-conversation-with-photojournalists-media-gurus/feed/ 2 http://www.twitterjournalism.com/2009/07/28/the-new-twitter-homepage-and-its-impact-on-journalism/ http://www.twitterjournalism.com/2009/07/28/the-new-twitter-homepage-and-its-impact-on-journalism/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:29:23 +0000 Craig Kanalley http://www.twitterjournalism.com/?p=303

Twitter debuted a new homepage today (July 28, 2009, remember that date in history), and it shows a fundamental shift from “what are you doing?” to a new emphasis on real-time search and information distribution.

The new Twitter motto is “Share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” Perhaps the ill-advised perceptions of the site as merely a lifecasting device will finally change.

Ben Parr of Mashable had this insightful analysis on the changes:

Twitter is in the process of changing directions, and this new homepage is the biggest step yet towards that transformation. Twitter was first conceived as a place to update your friends and interested parties on your life. It was focused on you.

Now Twitter has taken away that focus, and in its place, Twitter is focusing on the entire world. There’s not a single reference to you in Twitter’s new explanation. We think we understand why, because we hear this reason for not joining Twitter all the time:

“I just don’t have anything to say.”
“I don’t need to update people on my life.”
“It’s for people with followings and something to promote, not for me.”

Emphasizing that Twitter is the world’s platform for realtime information, for being connected to the entire world, is a savvy move on the part of Twitter. People who have something to promote are already on Twitter. Now the company has to convert the people who think Twitter’s just about telling people about what cereal you ate.

So will skeptical journalists who think no one cares about what they’re doing finally give the service a try? Because Twitter, at its best, isn’t that at all. And it’s an incredibly useful tool for any journalist to have in their arsenal.

Ever wish there was a way to organize your chaotic Twitter stream into a series of columns, one with pictures, one with replies, one with retweets, one with generic chatter, and even one with potential story ideas?

Yes, there’s Tweetdeck for those familiar with Twitter, but now there’s a new option out there, designed with the journalist in mind: JournoTwit.

JournoTwit organizes your Twitter feed by columns for an easier read.

Andrew Spode Miller, a UK tech journalist and Web developer, says he designed JournoTwit “out of necessity.”

“Twitter was taking up way too much of my time, but I knew it was an invaluable resource,” Miller said. “I was a big fan of TweetDeck, but they just weren’t implementing the features I was after.”

JournoTwit makes Twitter “more digestable,” he says. It is entirely Web-based so there are no downloads required.  Your settings are stored, so you can move from computer to computer without losing the setup. And it supports use of multiple accounts, as many journalists operate both personal and professional accounts.

“The biggest feature is the way that JournoTwit divides your Twitter feed up,” Miller said. “Frankly, I think it’s ludicrous that we are still monitoring a single feed of data, where there are clear classifications of tweets available.”

Anytime someone you follow posts a picture, it displays as a separate feed. When someone sends an @ reply to someone else, it goes under “Chatter.” Anytime someone posts a link that isn’t a picture, it goes to the “Potential News” column. As Miller says, “When someone posts a link to something – chances are, it’s to a news story or to something interesting going on that you should know about.”

The best use of the potential news column is following accounts with automated feeds, Miller says.  These accounts are news sources that simply spit out a headline with a link.  Now they can be separated from your main feed and not get in the way.

Miller (@spode) says he has big plans for JournoTwit.  He is working with Dan Monsieurle (@mled) on further development and hopes to implement additional features. He said of the next version, “It’s looking to be quite something.”

So what are you waiting for? Give JournoTwit a try for yourself.

Let us know what you think of the client by sending an @ reply to @TwitJourn or leaving a comment below.

It’s June 2009. If you’re a journalist and you’re not on Twitter, you should be, in my humble opinion. It’s my hope that this blog will help skeptics find value in the service, teach newbies new tricks and also prove valuable to regular Tweeters.

I’ve been on the service for about a year now (@ckanal). I’ve quickly learned that Twitter is what you make of it. If you put in the time to check it out, I’m convinced you’ll see its value too.

As the founder of Breaking Tweets, a Web site that personalizes world news through tweets and has taken off beyond my wildest dreams since launch in January, I have a ton of tips, stories, and ideas to relay on to the journalistic community.

I also owe Twitter a great deal of thanks for the following opportunities:

• Getting tickets to the Obama rally on Election Night at Grant Park (via a link)
• Connecting with the Chicago Sun-Times and given a chance to tweet/blog for them at the Inauguration of Barack Obama (via a Direct Message)
• Meeting business entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki (again via a Direct Message)
• Landing my friend an internship at a Chicago agency (via a retweet I posted)

It’s a true community with real networking opportunities and unlimited usefulness if you know how to use it — or if you’re just curious and willing to experiment.

I believe that Twitter can play a large role in the future of journalism, as the applications are limitless, and well aware of the criticism this may be bring upon me, I call this the “Twitter Journalism” era of news.

So, keep checking back. Send your thoughts via comments. Share your knowledge and your tips. Consider making a guest post. And let’s make this a forum for discussion and a serious resource for journalists both new and old to Twitter. The applications are real and they are there. So let’s get started.