Delicious Today: Twitter List, Data Mining Journalism

#1: Fort Hood Shooting Shows How Twitter, Lists Can be Used for Breaking News
#2: Good Example of Twitter List Use: New York Times

"Lists proved a new way to follow breaking news on Twitter, with filtered groupings of local news outlets, military accounts, and local citizens."

Two media organizations shine in the coverage of the shooting. The Austin American-Statesman, the biggest news provider in Central Texas, created a new Twitter account for the event, "FtHoodShootings," immediately and used it as the central place to publish latest reports from its journalist on the scene and information from other media outlets and citizens. The New York Times created a Twitter list of Fort Hood sources and posted the list as a content module prominently on its website. These two organizations demonstrate a good practice of using Twitter in covering breaking news:

1. If you, a news organization, are near where the event happens, create a new Twitter account dedicated to covering the event and sharing information from other media sources and citizens. In other words, make your new Twitter account the destination for information about the event.
2. If you are not near the site of the event, create a Twitter list and curate the information for your audience. By listing local sources on the event, separating facts from rumors, and providing useful context information, you build your reputation as a trusted guide and will attract more audience.
   

#3: Duke University's Computational Journalism

"Computational journalism’ s combination of algorithms, data, and knowledge from social sciences could help preserve the watchdog function of journalism. Accountability Through Algorithm: Developing the Field of Computational Journalism describes how computational approaches, such as the development of a suite of open source reporting tools, can make it easier for reporters and citizens to hold government accountable."

Computational journalism is similar to what I call data mining journalism, an Internet-native form of journalism that's still in its early stage of development. I'm excited to see that the academic world has taken such interest in it.