Twitter as Journaism?

From UW-Madison student Andrew Koritz:

I found this article on MSNBC which discusses the recent surge in Twittering and how useful of a tool it is.

Personally, I feel that twitter is something that can add to the journalism industry if used in a proper way. Originally I was skeptical, but the more I think about it, the more I see how useful it could be. As the author of the piece alludes to, some of the twittering "stories" recently are non-issues such as Shaq twittering about hanging out at the mall, but I think we need to expand on our ideas of what this medium can provide.

At President Obama's address to the nation a few weeks ago, some of the politicans with a front row seat twittered notes about the presentation and cleared up facts that Obama may have exaggerated or misspoken. I think this tool, when refined, can be used as an up to the minute tool to clarify any mistakes in journalistic accuracy.

Furthermore, by choosing to follow certain causes or people on twitter, it allows for people to educate themselves further on prevalent issues and allows for new avenues for journalists to set the agenda on items in the news without writing formal columns in magazines and newspapers.