10 maneras en que los periodistas pueden usar Twitter antes, durante y despus de escribir un reportaje No existe ninguna duda

de que Twitter puede ser una herramienta muy valiosa para los medios de informacin. Se puede usar para encontrar ideas de reportajes, compartir noticias y comunicarse entre ellos. La mayora de periodistas entiende para qu sirve y aprecia su valor Con todo, muchos periodistas an no estn en Twitter o lo estn pero raramente lo usan. Argumentan que no tienen tiempo para tuitear porque tienen una carga de trabajo impresionante. El problema es que lo ven como un distractor y no como una herramienta que les ayudar a reportear y compartir noticias. En la medida en que se vean los beneficios de uarlo, en ese medida entrar en su rutina diaria. Aqu, 10 maneras en que Twitter nos puede ayudar a nuestras tareas periodsticas. 1. No es suficiente asumir que la gente encargada de las redes sociales de tu medio tuitear tus textos. Tienes que tuitear desde tu propia cuenta el link a tu texto y conseguir que lo lea la gente que debe leerlo. 2. Una buena idea es que una vez que termines un reportaje y se publique, le mandes un correo electrnico a toda la gente que entrevistaste con el link del texto y les pidas que la retuiteen. Si lo hacen y a menudo los entrevistados tienen muchos seguidores en Twitter es probable que tu texto sea ledo por gente que de otra manera no lo hara. 3. Tuitear slo la cabeza de la nota, reportaje o entrevista no es suficientemente atractivo. La gente quiere saber que detrs de ese tuit hay alguien y desean escuchar su voz. As que trata de que tu tuit provoque una interaccin. Comenta qu parte del reportaje te gust ms, haz alguna pregunta, comparte un detalle del proceso de reporteo (Cost mil intentos, pero aqu tienen la entrevista con el protagonista de Breaking Bad). Si alguien responde la pregunta o te hace una

pregunta, debes rsponder. Esta interaccion fortalece tu posicin como periodista. Recently, my colleague Steve Myers wrote about how journalists had used Twitter to perpetuate a hoax about CNN suspending Piers Morgan. To start a conversation about his story, Myers tweeted a link to it and asked: Should journalists verify information before they tweet it? The question generated dozens of responses, which he captured via Storify. Dale a quienes te siguen una escena detrs de cmaras sobre el proceso de reporteo. Comparte algo de los momentos a los que pocos tienen acceso. Imgenes de texto o detalles que quiz no incluyas en la nota, pero que te permitir reforzar lazos con tu audiencia.

5.- Twitter puede ser una herramienta muy poderosa para encontrar ideas que sean utiles para hacer reportajes y para mantenerte al tanto de lo que ocurre en a fuente que cubras. Si cubres medio ambiente, debes seguir a las organizaciones civiles, a los funcionarios del rea. Si cubre deportes, sigue el twitter de los entrenadores o de los deportistas, quienes a menudo dan la noa en sus cuentas de twitter. Eso te permitir mantenerte al tanto de lo que tus Fuentes estn diciendo, al mismo tiempo que aumentars la posibilidad de encontrar temas. Si sigues a gente que tuitea acerca de una variedad de temas que no estn vnculadas con tu fuente, crea listas que te ayudan a organziar los tuits, Twitter tiene un tutorial sobre cmo crear y usar listas. Tambin pueden usar aplicaciones como HootSuite para hacer m{as organziado el seguimiento de tuist..

Find local sources. Twitters basic search tool is good for searching key words, but lets say you want to find out what people in your local community are tweeting. You can refine your search by using Twitters advanced search page, which lets you search by location. By typing in your location and a key word, you can find related tweets anywhere between 1 mile and 1,000 miles of that location. (Theres an option for choosing the radius.)

If you find local people you want to interview, follow up with them on Twitter and ask them to send you a Direct Message with their contact information. Twitter is a solid starting point. It doesnt replace traditional shoe-leather reporting; it just helps you find sources you may not have otherwise come across. Its up to you to follow up with the sources you find and, when appropriate, interview them. Dig up the past. One of the limitations of Twitters built-in search tool is that it doesnt let you search for tweets from months and years ago. But there are other Twitter search tools that do. Topsy, for instance, lets you search for tweets from as far back as three years ago. To do this, go to Topsys advanced search page and where it says Search a specific type, click on tweets. I dont use this tool very often, but I think it can be helpful in some scenarios. Lets say, for instance, that someone in your community has been arrested for a crime he committed months or years ago. You could use Topsy to search for that persons tweets around the time of the crime. Or you could use it to see what a politician tweeted during a particular point in her campaign. Help your audience keep track of an ongoing story. When reporting on an ongoing story, some news sites create separate Twitter accounts. The Orlando Sentinel created a Casey Anthony Twitter account that amassed nearly 42,000 followers. The Sentinel tweets links to its Casey Anthony coverage from that account, and reporters used the account to live tweet from the trial. Similarly, Poynter.org created a separate Twitter account specifically related to the News of the World scandal. Creating a separate account enabled us to give readers a go-to spot for our coverage and others coverage of the scandal. It also prevented us from bombarding the followers from our main account with tweets about News of the World. We continue to update it as news develops. When setting up a separate account, tweet about it from your sites main Twitter account. Also, in the bio line, include your news sites URL and/or its main Twitter handle to show that the account is connected with your site. Turn investigations into collaborative storytelling efforts. Twitter is great for soliciting help with projects, especially when youre strapped for time. Investigative reporter Wendy Norris used Twitter to seek help with an investigation in response to anecdotal reports that pharmacies

across Coloradowere locking up condoms and therefore making them less accessible. Instead of doing all the reporting on her own, she tweeted: Heading to the grocery/drug store this week? Join fun, stealth crowdsourcing project. No disguise needed. DM me if youre in Colorado. This tweet, a Facebook post and an email led Norris to recruit 17 volunteers. The volunteers went to 64 stores in one week to find out whether condoms were locked up. They found that 63 of the stores sold condoms, and most made them readily available. With the volunteers help, Norris disproved the rumors in the community. Last month, The Guardians Paul Lewis talked about how hes used Twitter for investigations and how to watch out for the risks involved. Build your credibility. Misinformation can spread quickly on Twitter, especially during breaking news situations. We saw this happen during the Gabrielle Giffords shooting and last months earthquake. As a journalist, you can show your credibility by debunking incorrect information and only tweeting information youve verified. This doesnt mean you shouldnt tweet during breaking news situations. You can phrase your tweets by saying something along the lines of, X is reporting Y, but we havent been able to confirm this information yet. Or send a couple of tweets saying: We are working on this story and will tweet updates as soon as we have them. Heres what we do know This enables you to get your voice in the mix, while letting your audience know that youre on top of the story and care about getting it right.