Advancing the Story: Quality Journalism in a Digital World
Fourth Edition
Tip Sheet
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.