BusinessWeek.com editor John Byrne posted a list last week of all of the magazine’s staffers who have a Twitter feed. The implication was that this was a major initiative by the publication.
Long-time BusinessWeek staffer Steve Baker writes today, “Suddenly, there were some very uncomfortable people roaming these halls. They thought they shared their Twitter streams with a small group of friends and colleagues—and suddenly dozens of strangers were jumping on: Flacks! Sure enough, PR blogs were already spreading the word. (Peter Himler wondered how John’s colleagues would feel about it.)”
Byrne’s original post with the Twitter feeds is here, while Baker’s response today is here.
Another staff member wrote to Talking Biz News and stated, “Now obviously Twitter streams are (for the most part) totally public, but there’s something very uncomfortable in my eyes that BW is just going to assimilate everything any of its employees do anywhere on the web. Presumably people will now be followed and sent messages in their role as BW reporters, which may or may not have anything to do with what they do on Twitter.”
What do you think? Are what business journalists write outside of their full-time jobs available for review by the public as well? Should BusinessWeek have exposed the Twitter feeds of its writers to public scrutiny?
This is obviously new ground in business journalism. There are no write or wrong answers. But I think it’s worthy of discussion.
And as a disclosure: Talking Biz News headlines are available as a Twitter feed. I have a grand total of 47 followers.
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Hi Chris,
I'm that crazy PR guy who Stephen linked in his blog. I never knew it would start a conversation, but I'm glad it did. I can see how editors would be weary of PR people following them on Twitter, but ultimately if it's a professional account where they discuss topics of relevant nature I think it's a great tool for us all. Knowing what they're interested in helps with our job of pitching something relevant or passing them up for a better contact. As we all know, there will be people out there who abuse this new outlet and sour it for all of us, but you can't generalize all PR people into that bracket. Creating personal relationships will help and Twitter is another tool for that. I'm glad you're sharing his entry with your readers! Let me know if you're interested in more discussion about utilizing Twitter.
Below is the comment I left for Stephen:
"Hello Stephen,
I would have never guessed anyone of your stature would have read my post, let alone link it in one of your entries. However, I'm glad some editors feel the same way I do about using Twitter for PR purposes. Since the popularity of Twitter has blow up, it has created massive amounts of potential for all of us to better efficiently do our jobs. I agree with comments made that we have to be transparent and use this as a tool to better understand who we're trying to pitch and not simply add to another mass media list. It adds value to our work since we can follow you and see what you are interested in instead of spamming you a pitch. As a newly graduate, utilizing this technology was never taught to us, but with the core values I learned about dealing with traditional media has transpired to interacting with editors online. The game has changed, but the fundamentals will always be the same.
I wish I knew you were linking to my post, I would have put up a better picture, but hey, it gives me character. If you like you can follow me on Twitter, I know I'll be following you now!"
I think for a while there's been a sense that one could distinguish between his personal and professional life online. But when it comes to social media, I find that nearly impossible (maintaining two e-mail addresses is difficult enough, but two Facebook accounts, two Twitter feeds, two YouTube user names, etc.?).
There's definitely a blurring of the personal and professional lives of all those who use social media sites.
As editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com, I might have jumped the gun on listing all our folks on Twitter without asking them first. But I wasn't intending to out or expose anyone. I see Twitter as a powrful user engagement tool, a way to bring the inside out and the outside in. A key part of this new way of thinking is to make us more accessible and accountable to our readers. That's an important part of transforming journalism from a product we handed down to readers to a process that involves and embraces the reader at every level. In that vein, my posting of all the BusinessWeek staffers on Twitter was a direct response to numerous requests from readers for such a list. Oddly enough, a list of BW's Twitterati was already out there on a wiki (https://twitteringjournalists.pbwiki.com) but only visible to folks who register first. In retrospect, I should have checked with everyone to make sure they were cool with being listed on that wiki & then BW.com. Nonetheless, the vast majority of BW journalists signed up on Twitter of their won volition, without any prompting & to cultivate an audience for their work and for their views. The publication of a list certainly achieves those goals.