It kills me that I still hear assignment editors sending out reporters to the scene of a news scene, and instructing them NOT to Tweet.
About a decade ago, I remember convincing news editors that it was possible to scoop the competition online.
“A scoop is a scoop,” I’d say, and it was more than chiming off a lovely rhyme. Beating them to the story online is just the same as beating them in print.
It took a while, but it’s hard to find folks who would disagree with this now. So why doesn’t Twitter earn the same respect?
Today, our crime reporter got a tip about a possible homicide. A body was found by a bike path, and although emergency services hadn’t yet arrived, police were calling it a suspicious death.
“Go,” said our City Editor. “And don’t Tweet anything!” he shouted after her, as she ran off to get on the road.
