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For centuries, “journalist,” “reporter,” and “newsman,” have been reasonably interchangeable. After all, a reporter often works for a newspaper or TV station, where they are employed to do journalism.

But recent trends in publishing and digital tools have required that we look at new definitions for these words. Being a journalist has started to mean being someone who ties stories together into a narrative, whatever the medium.

How do these differences apply to Twitter?

News

I see news as being different from journalism because news is just the facts (ma’am). Twitter is great for news, and there have been several cases where Twitter has established itself as the spot for breaking news.

Take the semi-recent explosion in virginia, or Amy Gahran’s experience tracking a tornado as examples.

Sure it’s fast. But is it always accurate? Is it Journalism?

Journalism

Journalism is different. Journalism requires that stories been constructed, facts be tied together, narratives presented, and context created.

In short, journalism is the big picture.

No one would argue that you can get the pig picture in 140 characters. But what about aggregate tweets? One person over a long time, or many people over a large subject?

Does election.twitter.com count as journalism? Watching it can certainly give you the 20,000 foot view.

The question

On Twitter more than any other new service the question arises: can you be a journalist? Is 140 characters enough to convey more than a headline would? Do multiple tweets make a narrative?

Is Twitter a viable, standalone medium for journalism? What do you think?

About the author: You can learn more about the future of publishing by following Jason’s thoughts on his blog, Eat Sleep Publish. Or you can just subscribe to his RSS feed. Follow Jason on Twitter at @jasonp107

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