Newspaper editorial takes aim at Twitter’s ‘path to ruin’ of journalism

Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian newspaper has published an extraordinary editorial deriding the “juvenile news-sphere" of Twitter, and lamenting what it claimed was a “mad plunge into social media-driven journalism” which it said was dangerous to the future of news reporting. The editorial said that hard-core media values - truth, accuracy, fairness, balance, perspective, objectivity - were being lost as many newspapers abandoned them in favour of “meaningless info-tainment and fleeting fashions.”“Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are wonderful tools for journalists and the industry as a whole in terms of marketing,” the editorial said.“They can be used to promote stories, maintain contacts with readers and pass the time on the bus for those with short attention spans. But social media is neither a substitute for reporting nor a reflection of what is important in our democracy.”It added, taking a direct swipe at its principal printed paper competitors: “Those reporters who inhabit Twitter - we can think of a legion at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald - rather than getting out into the suburbs of our great cities and towns invariably get the pulse of the nation completely wrong.”It said this represented a path to ruin.However, Bronywn Clune, writing in The Guardian said that there was no quicker way for old institutions to look irrelevant than to insist on their relevance. “Today The Australian did just that by publishing an editorial not only bragging about its superiority, but underlining the “path to ruin” that is… journalists using Twitter. ““The editorial has left many ex-Australian writers rather perturbed,” she said.“Former writers from the media section – including Amanda Meade, Nic Christensen and Simon Canning – openly mocked the piece on Twitter.“To take aim at the claims in The Australian almost seems too easy. Twitter is one of the most powerful journalistic tools available to newsrooms, and inherent to their survival. That the only national Australian daily newspaper would publicly fail to understand that is alarming.”Rupert Murdoch's corporations own an estimated 70% of Australian newspapers. Newspaper reporter image via Shutterstock

#JournoFail

@stuartcmcgill Could this b the reason behind The Australian's scathing editorial on twitter? Paywall or not, who wants to pay to be lied 2?

— Winston Storer (@dr_aztek) November 13, 2013

Australian editorial on "Lost in the Twitterverse" is actually a call for editorial judgement to be exercised http://t.co/hsAxuNeFEH

— Media Guido (@MediaGuido) November 13, 2013

WOW. So out of touch. Has whoever wrote the editorial at the @australian ever even used Twitter? http://t.co/hh0ojbab5T

— Get Shortened (@Get_Shortened) November 12, 2013

Twitter, dangerous to newspapers editor of Australian tells us in editorial. I promise I did not buy this! pic.twitter.com/hPgif31kRd

— mary-jane smith (@pallisier) November 13, 2013

Today's Australian editorial is more deluded than usual. It was Twitter where Assange and Wikileaks Party were angrily called to account.

— David Jackmanson (@djackmanson) November 12, 2013