Journalism professor Julie Posetti has compiled a helpful analysis of the use of Twitter by political journalists in Australia, The #Spill Effect: Twitter Hashtags and Australian Political Journalism.
I highly recommend reading it and will deliberately not quote or summarize it extensively here because you should just read it. I will. though, note her summary of the various ways political journalists in Australia are using Twitter:
Tweeting breaking news
Live-tweeting from media conferences
Posting pictures to illustrate the atmospherics
Offering opinions
Monitoring key political players’ Twitter feeds
Linking to long-form stories on their outlets’ websites and, critically, to those of their competitors
Discussing story updates and journalistic processes with their colleagues, competitors and followers
Interacting with the public
Posing questions to politicians, or passing comments directed at them via the medium
I tweeted today that Julie had compiled “One of the best analyses I’ve seen of Twitter use by journos.”
That made me reflect on other resources (mine and others’) to help journalists master Twitter, so I decided to compile a list. I’ll start with a directory of my own contributions, then offer a few more and invite you to add to it:
Twitter tutorials for journalists
I have done several workshops for journalists, each geared to a different audience, and each with an update and/or tailoring of previous handouts and slideshows (so yes, they are quite similar):
- Leading your staff into the Twitterverse (slides here), presented almost a year ago for the American Society of Newspaper Editors (right before it dropped “paper” from its name) and geared for top newsroom leaders. I also compiled a list of Twitter resources (some general, some for journalists) for that webinar. Frankly, I don’t know whether these resources will be as helpful now as they would have been at the time. A year is a long time in Twitter history, so some of these links may be busted now or their advice outdated.
- Twitter tips for journalists (slides), developed for staff members at The Gazette and geared for front-line journalists.
- Tweeps give advice to journos using Twitter, crowdsourced advice for some workshops I led in January for journalists in Ottawa (slides).
- Twitter for newsroom leaders (slides), presented in February for the Mid-America Press Institute.
Ethics
I have written about journalism ethics issues relating to Twitter
- Journalism ethics in social networks
- Bad judgment doesn’t taint the platform
- I have blogged extensively about newsroom policies on social media
Breaking news
I have chronicled several breaking news stories and how journalists used Twitter (or could have):
- @statesman: a case study in using Twitter for breaking news
- @statesman shines again in breaking news Twitter coverage
- Research shows Twitter’s value in questioning rumors
- My tweeps help with tips, examples of Twitter’s value in covering breaking news
- Twitter scoops Google, AP on earthquake
- A breaking news story in Boston covered by Twitter
- Using Twitter to follow North Dakota floods
- An emergency airplane landing
- Twitter is an essential reporting tool (about a Denver plane crash)
Other Twitter advice from my blog
- I also developed some advice on Twitter time management, prompted by an exchange about the light Twitter use by the board of the Associated Press Managing Editors.
- Riveting Twitter narrative of robotic surgery
- How retweeting drives blog traffic
- Research shows Twitter’s value in questioning rumors
Mandy Jenkins’ Twitter resources
I am pleased that Mandy Jenkins, social media producer for TBD, is sharing valuable Twitter advice with our staff and others:
- How to sign up and start your Twitter account
- Intro to Twitter for journalists
- Making Twitter work for reporting
- Need-to-know Twitter tips for journalists
- Data-mining information from Twitter
Other Twitter resources for journalists
I am sure that I don’t know all the valuable resources others have compiled. I will list a few and invite you to help me fill it out:
- Twitter Media, the official Twitter site offering resources for journalists
- More from Julie Posetti: Top 20 tips for journo twits and Rules of engagement for journalists on Twitter
- Andria Krewson’s Twitter advice for journalists
- Sree Sreenivasan’s Twitter guide for newbies and skeptics
- Vadim Lavrusik’s Using CoverItLive for live chats, tracking Twitter feeds and more and 4 ways news organizations are using Twitter lists
- Robert Niles’ Starting your news web site: How to get the most out of Twitter and So why aren’t you Twittering yet?
- Eric Ulken’s Twitter Tim.es: Personalized news done right?
- Leah Betancourt’s A journalist’s guide to Twitter
- Journalist’s Toolbox Twitter resources
- Mark S. Luckie’s How Twitter saved my career and my life, 25 tools for getting more out of Twitter and Twitter for journalists: what you need to know
- Scott Karp’s Newsrooms can grow Twitter followers by using Twitter for link journalism
- Meg Thilmony’s Using Twitter in the newsroom
- Suzi Steffen’s Twitter confabulation
- Richard Kendall’s A local journalist’s Twitter guide
Help me add to this list. What are Twitter resources for journalists that you have developed or found helpful?
I started http://www.twitterjournalism.com and have some good resources there. Have always hoped to update it more, but there is some good evergreen content such as tips for those new to Twitter and tips for live tweeting events.
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Thanks, Steve and Craig, for encyclopedic lists. I’ll use these references to teach some “citizen journalists” soon.
Couple of adds and thoughts:
Twiangulate, out of North Carolina, gives journalists tools to see who follows whom, in a more sophisticated way than some other tools. Great for coverage of politics, business, etc.
Explanation from ReadWriteWeb is here:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/george_stephanopoulos_wolf_blitzer_ana.php
Different tool: Some folks at The Charlotte Observer are using a tool called MediaFunnel. Haven’t explored it yet.
On policy: There’s a database of government and nonprofit social media policies here:
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=5
Delicious links from me about social media, including some enterprise tools, here:
http://delicious.com/andriak/socialmedia?page=1
And a simple, basic question, for those just dipping in:
If one *has* to set up a feed between Facebook and Twitter updates to be efficient with time, which feed direction and tool is best? Twitter to FB allows selective updating, correct? While Facebook to Twitter does not?
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[…] Resources for journalists using Twitter « Pursuing the Complete Community Connection […]
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Thanks for adding more resources, Craig and Andria. I will be sure to check them out.
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Hi I am compiling an aggregated list of twitter info from the Chile earthquake. It is called Terremoto Info.
P. favor RT Información más reciente de Twitter espanol/ingles “info terremoto” http://bit.ly/8YwPAa #vivatwitter #fuerzachile
Please RT Latest information aggregated from Twitter in Spanish/English “info terremoto” http://bit.ly/8YwPAa #vivatwitter #fuerzachile
Please pass it on
The full extent of this tragedy is still not being reported well in the UK certainly.
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[…] Resources for journalists using Twitter (stevebuttry.wordpress.com) […]
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[…] Resources for journalists using Twitter. A great list from Steve Buttry. […]
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[…] two great guides to Twitter: One, a comprehensive list of Twitter resources for journalists from former newspaper exec Steve Buttry, and two, some great […]
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[…] Resources for journalists using Twitter (stevebuttry.wordpress.com) […]
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I’m wondering if there is a Twitter app that will do the following:
Take a list of Twitter users and merge the lists of who each is following.
Tell me who I am following that is not in the above described merged list.
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Chuck,
I don’t know of such an app. Friend or Follow http://friendorfollow.com/ lets you see who’s following you that you’re not following and vice versa. But I don’t think it does what you’re seeking. I’d ask the tweeps (will do that myself shortly) and see if someone knows.
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Chuck,
Jeff Sonderman responded to my tweet by suggesting you try http://followerwonk.com/
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[…] two great guides to Twitter: One, a comprehensive list of Twitter resources for journalists from former newspaper exec Steve Buttry, and two, some great […]
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[…] Steve Buttry’s resources for journalists using Twitter […]
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[…] Steve Buttry compiled an excellent list of tutorials and resources for journalists using Twitter stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/resources-for-journalists-using-twitter/ It is amazing that in an age where Twitter has become such an integral part of the information […]
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[…] Twitter. Twitter may be the best tool for journalists introduced during my career (along with the spreadsheet and the cell phone). Regardless of the content of your tweets and how well you engage with other tweeps or use it for breaking news, it’s a fabulous writing tool. When you have only 140 characters to make a point, you learn to economize with words and get to the point. I checked the three top stories on the Washington Post site Tuesday afternoon and two of them were way longer than a tweet (and desperately in need of streamlining). The lead on a story on the United Nations response to the Israeli flotilla attack was more than two tweets long and another Post story on the death of an Al Qaeda leader had a lead nearly two tweets long. On the other hand, the story on the Gores’ separation had a tweetworthy lead. Check the three and see which gets to the point clearer and sooner. Live tweeting an event also results in a compelling narrative, one concise point at a time. Follow Ron Sylvester of the Wichita Eagle as he covers a trial to see some strong live tweeting. Tweets are one of several forms of the update, a common social-media writing form used (not always with the 140-character limit) in other platforms, such as Facebook or LinkedIn updates and Foursquare tips or shouts. […]
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[…] Resources for journalists using Twitter […]
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[…] I’ve seen more valuable helps for journalists. I highlighted some in 2009 and put together a list of resources last year, though I don’t know how current they would be now. Please add any other helpful […]
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[…] your staff into the Twitterverse Resources for journalists using Twitter March 3, 2010 by Steve Buttry Journalism professor Julie Posetti has compiled a helpful analysis of […]
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