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Profile: Sky's Twitter correspondent, Ruth Barnett, says post no gimmick
06 Oct 2009 | 19.07 Europe/London
Sky appointed Ruth Barnett as the UK’s Twitter correspondent in April to mixed reactions. While many fans of the micro blogging site saw the move as a masterstroke there were some voices which suggested the move might have been a token stunt.
However, Barnett is insistent that the channel is a vital means to build up contacts, pick up story leads and so allow the ISP and broadcaster to bolster as well as promote its online, mobile and television news coverage.
“It’s the perfect medium for getting in to a two way conversation with lots of interesting people,” she says.
“I get in to a lot of discussions with people and generally see what’s going on and what might make good news stories for us. It’s very good for getting leads and finding interesting people who can be case studies.
“A case in point was a doctor mentioning hay fever cases had gone up in the summer. We took that comment and checked it out and it was verified by other sources so it made a good story for us.”
Cuts both ways
Crucially, Barnett points out, any company wanting to establish a Twitter presence has to understand that the medium is two-way.
“Twitter’s great for posting links to stories, but I tend to get involved in conversations and asking questions of followers rather than just posting links,” she says.
“We have a news feed for links, so I tend to look to the site for tips and leads. If you use Twitter you have to realise it’s a two-way medium so you have to get involved in conversations, you can’t just use it to publish. You really do have to listen as well as talk, it’s the only way you can build up a following.
“It also doesn’t replace good journalism and talented reporters, it’s just a great way for us to have a conversation with the public and find out stories from them.”
Criticism not fair
Sky’s use of Twitter has already seen a major question mark raised against the medium when the broadcaster used tweets from people claiming to be in Tehran as ‘eye witnesses’.
To Barnett this criticism was misplaced.
“I think it was unfair when people suggested we were trying to pass off tweets as verified eye witness accounts,” she says.
“Obviously the best source for foreign news is our own foreign affairs correspondent and reporters but we also included accounts from people in Tehran talking about troubled sparked by the disputed election. We obviously couldn’t verify these people and we made this clear in our coverage.”
What is less clear about Sky’s use of Twitter, though, is the crucial question around all use of Twitter in a person’s own name; who owns the account?
“I’ve got the password and it’s in my name but we’ve not actually ever discussed what would happen if I were to leave,” Barnett admits.
“It may well be something that Sky would ask for me to surrender on leaving. It’s not something we’ve discussed.”
In the meantime, Barnett can be found on the site (@ruthbarnett) daily chatting to her following and looking for leads for stories or contributions to articles. While many journalists from various print, online and broadcast news organisations are also to be found publishing links to their stories and post messages, Sky believes it is still the first to have a correspondent who is actually devoted to the channel.
However, Barnett is insistent that the channel is a vital means to build up contacts, pick up story leads and so allow the ISP and broadcaster to bolster as well as promote its online, mobile and television news coverage.
“It’s the perfect medium for getting in to a two way conversation with lots of interesting people,” she says.
“I get in to a lot of discussions with people and generally see what’s going on and what might make good news stories for us. It’s very good for getting leads and finding interesting people who can be case studies.
“A case in point was a doctor mentioning hay fever cases had gone up in the summer. We took that comment and checked it out and it was verified by other sources so it made a good story for us.”
Cuts both ways
Crucially, Barnett points out, any company wanting to establish a Twitter presence has to understand that the medium is two-way.
“Twitter’s great for posting links to stories, but I tend to get involved in conversations and asking questions of followers rather than just posting links,” she says.
“We have a news feed for links, so I tend to look to the site for tips and leads. If you use Twitter you have to realise it’s a two-way medium so you have to get involved in conversations, you can’t just use it to publish. You really do have to listen as well as talk, it’s the only way you can build up a following.
“It also doesn’t replace good journalism and talented reporters, it’s just a great way for us to have a conversation with the public and find out stories from them.”
Criticism not fair
Sky’s use of Twitter has already seen a major question mark raised against the medium when the broadcaster used tweets from people claiming to be in Tehran as ‘eye witnesses’.
To Barnett this criticism was misplaced.
“I think it was unfair when people suggested we were trying to pass off tweets as verified eye witness accounts,” she says.
“Obviously the best source for foreign news is our own foreign affairs correspondent and reporters but we also included accounts from people in Tehran talking about troubled sparked by the disputed election. We obviously couldn’t verify these people and we made this clear in our coverage.”
What is less clear about Sky’s use of Twitter, though, is the crucial question around all use of Twitter in a person’s own name; who owns the account?
“I’ve got the password and it’s in my name but we’ve not actually ever discussed what would happen if I were to leave,” Barnett admits.
“It may well be something that Sky would ask for me to surrender on leaving. It’s not something we’ve discussed.”
In the meantime, Barnett can be found on the site (@ruthbarnett) daily chatting to her following and looking for leads for stories or contributions to articles. While many journalists from various print, online and broadcast news organisations are also to be found publishing links to their stories and post messages, Sky believes it is still the first to have a correspondent who is actually devoted to the channel.