How to use Twitter to find sources

by Sabrina Rocco

In the journalism world, Twitter is a go-to way to find sources FAST. If you're on deadline with a story, and can't get in touch with a source that you originally wanted to use, you can turn to Twitter to find and communicate with potential sources. Everyone on Twitter has an opinion -- and everyone wants theirs to be heard -- so getting someone to participate in a story usually isn't difficult. Here are a few simple tips to help you engage with sources on Twitter (trust me -- they work. I've tried 'em myself!):

1) TWEET! If you're in need of a source, go ahead and send out a tweet. Ask your followers how they feel about the issue you're writing about. Ask questions and see what type of response you can get. Here, Eric Deggans (https://twitter.com/Deggans), the media critic at the Tampa Bay Times, asks his followers if they're having trouble watching a debate. I'm sure he wanted to include this information in a story and he was trying to  get a feel for how others were watching this debate.

 

Also, an example from Ben Greenman (https://twitter.com/bengreenman), an editor at the New Yorker, is trying to gather public opinion about commercials:

2) SEARCH If you're doing a story and you want to see what people are saying about the issue you are writing about, you can search different hashtags to pull up tweets. For example, if you were writing something on Mitt Romney, you could search #mittromney in the Twitter search bar to pull up a bunch of tweets about Romney. Here is an example of what that would look like.

3) COMMUNICATE Once you find a source -- by sending out a tweet asking for opinions or by searching for sources using a hashtag search -- you can send them a direct message (DM) or a tweet and ask them to call or email you. That way, you can take the conversation off Twitter and interact in a more professional way (this also allows you to communicate outside of just 160 characters!). Once your source has contacted you off Twitter, you can set up an interview and then finally use that source in your story.