Twitter for Journalists
By Deborah Potter
Identify yourself

• Be honest and transparent.
• Be clear about who you are and what interests you.
• Let your personality come through (not your opinions).

Stay up to speed

• Follow beat-related groups for updates.
• Follow news organizations for breaking news tips.

Report the news

• Tweet updates on stories you're covering.
• Live Tweet breaking news.
• Search for Tweets about breaking news to find potential contacts.

Connect with your audience

• Ask followers to help you find contacts or sources.
• Keep followers up to date on what you're working on.
• Respond to @replies and DMs (direct messages).

Get story ideas

• Follow local Tweeters to learn what's “hot.”
• Scan or filter Twitter streams for topics of interest.
• Encourage followers to send tips, suggested questions, and so on.

Promote your work

• Tease stories in progress on Twitter to raise interest.
• Share links to completed stories to drive traffic.

Network

• Combine Twitter with other social media platforms like Facebook to expand reach.
• Use Twitter to interact with other journalists.

Beware

• Fake Twitter accounts can be deceiving.
• Don't get involved in Twit-arguments.
• Remember: It's one to many. Everyone can hear you.