Five Twitter chats for journalists

por Margaret Looney
Oct 30, 2018 en Miscellaneous

When 140 characters leave you craving a more in-depth discussion, tune in to a Twitter chat.

Hosted by journalism organizations, news outlets or expert reporters, these weekly, monthly or ongoing chats touch on the latest in digital innovation, writing tips and industry trends.

Here are a few to check out:

Known as one of the first news industry chats, this weekly conversation has drawn journalists, bloggers and public relations experts since 2008. PR expert Sarah Evans runs the chat, which covers the latest industry news, like the Chicago Tribune's recent purchase of media content provider Journatic to service the paper's local news websites.

  • #wjchat - Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST

Founded by journalist Robert Hernandez, this weekly chat for digital journalists covers technology, ethics, content and all else related to online journalism. Each week, the chat features a new host. In a recent interview with IJNet, Hernandez said the chat is unique because "everyone who attends can answer the questions and share their experiences, not just our host."

The Sunshine Review unites activists, citizens, bloggers, journalists and transparency advocates in a weekly chat on issues related to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. Touching on a new issue each week, recent topics included accessing phone records, requesting lobbying info and elections records. You can also access an archive of previous discussions here.

Topics for the weekly Digital First Media chat included open newsrooms, crowdsourcing and user-generated content. It's also a great place to hear about the latest quirky inventions in the digital world, like NewsJack, a new site that lets you edit and mimic existing sites.

Style experts at the Associated Press host monthly sessions where journalists can pose questions on tricky grammar choices, receive writing tips or just brush up on the rules. Last month's chat featured the AP European Sports Editor who prepped journalists on style rules for coverage of the Olympics. For a schedule of upcoming chats, click here.

And if you're having trouble keeping an eye on your chat's hashtag in your news feed, use TweetChat to focus on one chat and blur out the rest of the clutter.

Image CC-licensed on Flickr via otherthings.