Twitter Launches Twitter for Newsrooms

On Monday Twitter launched a guide for journalists called “Twitter for Newsrooms” intended to help reporters get the most out of the micro-blogging service. The guide contains valuable resources that will educate journalists and media organizations on how to best leverage various Twitter tools for finding sources, publishing their stories, and also for promoting their content.

“We know you come from different generations. Some are native to the pilcrow, others native to the hashtag. You began your careers in different media: radio, print, broadcast, online and mobile. But you share a common bond: the desire to make a difference in the world bringing reliable information to the communities you serve,” Twitter writes.

Twitter for Newsrooms is divided into four sections: Report, Engage, Publish and Extra. It offers numerous tips on how to use Twitter for engaging with audiences and building communities, branding, tweeting effectively, and more. The guide offers advice on how to use Twitter’s search features for finding sources, including Twitter Search, Twitter for Mac, and TweetDeck.

Those journalists who use Twitter regularly will conclude that they already employ most if not all of the tips gathered in Twitter for Newsrooms, but for those who are new to using the micro-blogging platform this guide will be a valuable source of information and best-practice tips.

“While this group is diverse, we think Twitter and #TfN can be a kind of common ground—and we know Twitter is a tool all journalists can use to find sources faster, tell stories better, and build a bigger audience for their work,” Twitter says.

Social networks are becoming valuable resources for journalists, helping them to better interact with their readerships and advance their reporting. The most popular social networking site Facebook has recently launched a page aimed at journalists called Journalists on Facebook that offers tips for reporters on how to use Facebook to source stories, distribute their content, and more.