Twitter as a tool

There’s no doubt that Twitter is a useful tool for news organizations. I see journalists use it 
throughout the day to find story ideas, share news and talk with one another, so I’ve long known that most journalists understand its purpose and appreciate its value.

http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/digital-strategies/146345/10-ways-journalists-can-use-twitter-before-during-and-after-reporting-a-story/

By the time many journalists have time to get in and cover a story it has often broken on Twitter, been discussed and passed off as old news. Increasingly journalists are having to provide the perspective on the story and analyze the news rather than actually breaking the story because that is being done by the man in the street with a camera phone or somebody in a place of power who can send one tweet that breaks a huge story. 

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2010/12/06/10-ways-journalists-and-the-media-use-twitter/