Tweeting a bomb threat at DePaul library

[Craig Kanalley]

It's becoming a trend. Media outlets just can't keep up with the speed of "citizen journalist" reports on Twitter.

Earlier today, more than 15 minutes before any local media reported the news, these four tweets popped up on the popular social networking service:

@irishlemon: bomb threat called on the library @ depaul's lp campus...wasn't fun evacuating.

@xocg: Bomb threat at the JTR! No joking!

@thefieldsofmars: WTF i would get more work done in the library if it didn't get evacuated due to a bomb threat. BT's are so 2006 anyway. GOD

@hungluu: police around, bomb threat next door in lp library, watch the local news

Only one of the twitterers, @irishlemon, was a self-proclaimed DePaul student (per his bio). The other three simply had Chicago listed as their location, but it's obvious they too were talking of the DePaul incident due to the timing of the post and context of their other posts.

@ChicagoBreaking and @Chicago_News, accounts affiliated with the Chicago Tribune, were the first Chicago media outlets to tweet the news. Both simply posted, "Bomb threat at DePaul library http://tinyurl.com/bfl95f"

Not far behind on Twitter was DePaul's student newspaper, The DePaulia.

@dannythedemon: Breaking: Bomb threat at Richardson Library in Lincoln Park; DePaul Public Safety has evacuated the building | http://www.depauliaonline.com

Chi-Town Daily News had one of the first reports of the building reopening, a quick and comprehensive report, but that article hasn't been posted to its Twitter account - yet anyway. Instead, a twitterer who surfs local Chicago news sites posted a link to the Chi-Town Daily report:

@haystackvintage: Chicago News DePaul library reopens 3 hours after bomb threat: DePaul officials found a note in a me.. http://tinyurl.com/day46a

What does it all mean? The ability of citizen tweets to tell a breaking news story is real. Oftentimes, it is personal, it is raw, and it gives a glimpse into the news that media outlets just can't do with their initial reports - often dry and with preliminary facts and nothing else.

[Craig Kanalley]

That's a great way of putting it - a big texting convo. I agree with you, Ximena.

[Ximena N. Beltran]

I still feel that twitter is basically a big texting convo...bc when you think about it these texts sound like something they were sending to their friends but now media outlets can monitor them and pick up on it and do more investigating.

[Craig Kanalley]

Right on Suzanne. Media is no doubt about it responsible for its explosion. It's a natural partner for news. I myself learned about Twitter through CNN back in August. Rick Sanchez was talking about it and asked for opinions on what Hillary Clinton should do next; I signed up and gave my thoughts.

[Craig Kanalley]

I agree with you Richard. One problem is that as a story is developing, some people create fake Twitter accounts and pretend they're an intimate part of the story. Like, one guy just started a Twitter account a day or two ago posing as A-Rod's cousin...I forget his user name but ran across it. So stupid. So it's up to media outlets to get facts straight, as you say. That being said, some of the first tweets after a story breaks sure is interesting, I think, especially when people post photos and videos.

[Suzanne Traub]

That is why Twitter is so popular. So many news sources have it, such as CNN, MSNBC, Chicago Tribune, etc.

[Richard Giraldi]

As Christiana stated, it's still up to established news organizations to get the facts straight. Sure, twitter is great at getting the initial word out, but there really is no adequate reporting feature in the Web site. Ok there was a bomb threat at the DePaul library. Now I want to know who did it, why, and what the consequences on the students were, but unfortunately it's difficult to reports, research, and write a story in 150 words. That's why I think it will be difficult for twitter to really move past that function as a sociable update service to a legitimate news service. It still has a long time before becoming the next AP.

[Craig Kanalley]

Agreed Christiana. I think early tweets for news stories only enhance stories... they're something unique that, really, news outlets themselves can't offer. But ultimately actual news still has a huge role in our society. It would be something if the two could try to work closer together in the future, but not sure how.

[Christiana Johns]

Even though citizen journalists may have got the news out first, people still rely on established news organizations to get the facts straight. These citizen journalists are even linking to reports from newspapers, so I think that's a sign that people still depend on the news to get the story straight.

[Craig Kanalley]

Agreed. It is really something.

[Tina Shaerban]

Twitter really is awesome. I cannot believe how fast it goes.