One of the reasons that I’m a lurker on Twitter is that every time I tweet an idea, I feel like I’m delivering something to the competition that I ought to be giving to a reporter here.
Everything is accessible to everyone all the time, and I think there are wondrous things to treasure with what the Internet has made available to journalists. But I think it’s also had some effects that are less pleasant. It has chipped away at a sense of privacy and secrecy.
Twitter and Facebook are brilliant- tools, the journalistic uses of which are still being plumbed. They are great for disseminating interesting material. They are useful for gathering information, including from places that are inaccessible.
I think there’s been a decline in the public’s access to what’s being done with their tax dollars, what’s being done in their name. I hope that that will be repaired.
