I fear you might be confusing PR with News, and reporting with journalism. See my Dylan twitter review (an SA first, i like to think), for example, as difference between impressions vs criticism.
News isn’t defined as ‘stuff you get out quickly in case someone else beats you to the eyeballs’. It’s defined as stuff people need to know, and need to have contextualised. I speak as a total Web 2.0 convert.

Oh, the link, sorry.
http://www.channel24.co.za/Content/Music/AlbumReviews/672/125cef09f7a24b7f98d1bc2edd87d2e7//Bob_Dylan_-_Together_Through_Life

Good point – I may be conflating journalism and reporting (but not PR and News). Context is missing in my argument (I do think that the medium (twitter) contextualises the content rather nicely). Basic point though is that “new” and “traditional” media are complementary – immediate electronic reporting, and considered journalism (print or otherwise).

I think it’s brilliant… the traditional media will always have a big place in my heart.. and I read every paper every day.. but if I want instant news, I go to Twitter.. the mere fact that Rafiq was able to scoop everyone, market his own blog and deliver real news and statistics without ever leaving the event, as well as deliver live snippets is.. quite frankly.. brilliant.

This post is well-titled.

Being one who helps SMEs market their companies, products and services in outlandish ways that require little to no money, I have resorted to call what I do “New Marketing”, and against the background of that I can appreciate the title of this post.

However, as a voracious consumer of one particular Sunday paper’s content, I do not see myself lying on my sofa on a Sunday afternoon, warning those that live with me not to disturb me until such time I put the “Tweetster” down – the reason being I have several dozen news tweets and short tweet-like stories to read, immerse myself in, consume and to an extent broaden my knowledge of current affairs.

From where I stand journalism is the written word in engaging form.
A tweet is something I rather quickly forget.

I must say too, that tweets are gateways to amounts of content that a newspaper could never physically contain, but I am of the opinion that Twitter cannot replace my Sunday Times.

Not too long I downloaded two audiobooks: Made to Stick and The Long Tail. The Long Tail in audio made absolutely no sense to me. Perhaps that is because reading with my eyes and brain has been inculcated since age 5 and the whole ear-brain co-ordination needs to be nurtured and developed.

So perhaps like that, over time we will adapt and the news in 140-character bursts will REALLY replace my beloved Fred Khumalo and Mondli Makhanya Sunday afternoon literary lunches.

couldn’t agree more with this: “Basic point though is that “new” and “traditional” media are complementary – immediate electronic reporting, and considered journalism (print or otherwise).”

Forgot to mention that I went and bought The Long Tail book and haven’t begun listening to Made to Stick.. maybe someday.