March 18, 2009

The McCain Twitterview: Nice try, but no cigar

Chicago (IL) - Yesterday, George Stephanopoulos, a reporter from ABC, conducted an interview with Senator John McCain -- only it was not your typical interview. It was a new type of interview, a short, 15 minute "Twitterview" conducted over 140 character "tweets" sent back and forth on the popular social networking and microblogging website Twitter.com. Though it was a major move in the face of journalism, it has been criticized for its lack of depth.

More at TG Daily

2 comments:

  1. The transcript of this sucks. Great follow up to Clay Shirky on journalism/newspapers. This is one revolutionary idea that blows- The Twitterview.

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  2. There is the germ of a good idea here, but it doesn't belong in the Twitter universe. Most interviews conducted for video or print are limited by space/time. By changing the medium to the internet you allow the interviewee as much space as they want. They no longer have to worry about comments being edited into quotes/sound bites. They are either ignored (oh no!), or perused and read. The audience is allowed to choose their own sound bites/quotes and decide for themselves outside the realm of the editor/producer. In addition, the interviewee is allowed to self-edit by thinking (hopefully) before they type. By using Twitter you haven't changed the nature of the interview, but only changed the medium. Twitter is still about short sound bites. It still allows George Stephanopoulos to control the interview, as he would on his show. John McCain can't say what really needs to be said because he's controlled by space. The problem is both the medium and the tyrannical control that editors, journalists and producers wield over their audience and interviewees. As Clay Shirky pointed out, this is the Wild West, there are no rules. By adhering to the same tried and true confines professional journalism hastens its end. Obviously, rules are needed, but the journalists of the future will test the elasticity rather than find new ways for old tricks.

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