Time for Journalists to Quit Twitter
Time for Journalists to Quit Twitter
Also: The crypto collapse and changes coming to Wordle
NOTE: Due to the holiday week, we’re publishing a day early. There will be an abbreviated newsletter next week. Thanks for understanding.
AN EDITORIAL:
Quit Twitter.
That’s my message to journalists. Get off that toxic platform. You are known by the company you keep. When you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. I’ve got plenty of maxims.
As you probably know, Twitter has taken a nosedive since Elon Musk bought it for a still-hard-to-believe $44 billion. There was a 500 percent increase in anti-Black statements in just the first 24 hours after Musk took the reins as “Chief Twit.” Companies have paused advertising on the platform until they can be assured their ad won’t appear next to an awful Tweet. Musk is making a mess of his company internally, but that’s not my concern. I want journalists to be seen in a positive light. And you won’t get that on Twitter.
In the early days of Twitter, it was a great source for news. It was like having a high-tech police scanner. And it allowed reporters to engage with their audience in civil discourse. It was great to see local news reporters use Twitter from the scene of news stories, giving us immediate information.
Now, all that is lost in a morass of racism, hate, and bigotry.
Twitter’s influence on the news media is outsized compared to its actual audience. Twitter isn’t in the top ten social programs. Depending on how you define social media, Twitter is 15th in the world. That Snapchat app that you don’t use? It’s number 10. Its power comes when we amplify the most outrageous of tweets. You know how politicians make an outrageous ad they only air once, because they know it will be shown all over the news? Same idea. Free publicity for free hate.
Twitter was never a good tool for driving traffic to websites, either. I never saw more than about three percent of traffic referred to a site.
Last week, Playbill announced it will no longer post on Twitter:
Playbill is on the right side of this debate. There is more tolerance for hate on Twitter. They are not doing much when racist tweets are reported. You can get more of your audience on TikTok and Instagram. Use those.
And quit Twitter.
NEWS AND NOTES
THE CRYPTO COLLAPSE: We’re doing our best not to lead this with “we told you so.” (Oops. Did it.) Anyway, the long-expected collapse of the cryptocurrency market happened, and now some big-name celebrities are facing lawsuits. FTX, the crypto-currency exchange, collapsed and has filed for bankruptcy, leaving potentially millions of investors in the dark.
FTX’s downfall will likely bring down other cryptocurrency-trading houses, as many were intertwined with the company. The value of crypto has plummeted over the past year: A year ago, Bitcoin was trading at $60,000. One year later, it has dropped more than 70 percent to $16,520.
Some big names are going to get dragged into this affair. FTX successfully courted athletes and actors. Tom Brady and Larry David are among those named in a lawsuit. David did commercials pitching FTX, and Brady pushed crypto for the company, too. Sports franchises might get dragged into this matter, as well. MLB umpires wore FTX patches on their shirts last season.
WORLD CUP COVERAGE KICKS OFF: The 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar. Fox Sports has the English-language broadcast rights, and NBCU has the Spanish language rights. NBC will show the World Cup in Spanish on Telemundo and Peacock as Fox shows the English-language edition. For those who want to watch online, FoxSports.com will show the matches, but you have to have a pay-TV subscription to use the service. Peacock will stream the Spanish-language coverage, offering the first dozen matches for free before you hit their paywall. (Via Multichannel News.)
It will be interesting to watch if the networks address the human rights abuses in Qatar. The labor conditions in the desert were appalling, with thousands of poor workers dying on the job. Here’s a look at all the restrictions in place. If we didn’t know FIFA was corrupt before, we sure do now.
WORDLE CHANGES ITS VOCABULARY: You can forget guessing plurals in Wordle. Owner The New York Times is making some tweaks to the addictive game. According to CNN, plural words ending with “s” or “es” are out. The company is replacing the words that originator Josh Werdle used. The New York Times will choose the words.
I don’t normally do this well. My stats? 91 played, 88% win percentage. And I’m a word guy who should know a LOT more…
LINKS AND LIKES
A DIFFERENT SIDE OF BOND: Daniel Craig stars in a two-minute video for Belvedere Vodka. This is the kind of content brands should be making. Trust me - watch this:
Pretty cool, huh? It puts me in the mind of Christopher Walken’s famous video, “Weapon of Choice.”
YOUR THOUGHTS ON ELECTION COVERAGE: Using our chat feature, I sent out a question to you all, asking what you thought of the television election coverage. Some sample answers:
“I feel like, despite all the flaws, cable news does a better deep dive into political coverage than networks do.”
“Not impressed, esp. w/ CBS News … Why does CBS keep using their morning news talent for lukewarm evening political coverage? There was zero value added by their presence.”
“(NBC Data Guru Steve) Kornacki’s moments were interesting and data-driven with some speculation.”
Thanks to those who participated in the chat. I’ll send out another question soon.
BEYOND THE REMOTE
MOVEMBER: I’m participating in Movember, the month-long fundraiser where I grow a mustache and people donate money to a great cause. Movember is primarily focused on cancer and suicide in men, but it also sponsors wellness programs around the world. If you’d be so kind, please visit my page at mobro.co/stevesafran and make a donation.
Your correspondent, with new mustache. #HollywoodFilter
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REMOTE NOTES
Newsletter #30
Founder/Writer: Steve Safran
Editor: John Cockrell
Copyright 2022
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