Network news is all a-Twitter

FINALLY, A YEAR AGO, TWITTER WAS A CYBER-CULT.

AND NOW IT'S GONE MAINSTREAM, ESPECIALLY IN THE MEDIA, WHERE JOURNALISTS AND THE PUBLIC ARE ACHEECHG UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF INTERACTION, 140 CHARACTERS AT A TIME.

SIX MILLION USERS, NETWORK ANK ORGANIZATION AND EVEN MEDIA CRITICS LIKE CNN'S HOWIE KURTZ LOVE TWITTER.

>> THE BEST THING ABOUT TWIT SER IT'S NOT JUST A CHANCE FOR ANCHORS TO BLATHER ON-- ALTHOUGH THERE IS SOME SOME OF THAT.

>> THE MICROBLOGGING SERVICE HAS PROVED ITSELF AS A LEGITIMATE NEWS TOOL.

>> SOMEONE YELLED, "THERE'S A PLANE IN THE HUDSON," AND I WAS ON MY PHONE.

>> THAT'S A NEW YORK FERRY PASSENGER WHO TWITTERED ABOUT JANUARY'S AIR CRASH AND WAS ON MSNBC LATER.

TWITTERERS WERE A KEY SOURCE OF DETAILS ABOUT THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN MUMBAI INDIA.

FANS LIKE CHRIS CUOMO SAY THEY LOVE THE BACK-AND-FORECAST WITH THE AUDIENCE.

>> I REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GET ON TO TWITTER IF THEY'RE ON IT, AND TO TWEET ME BECAUSE I AM READING THEM.

>> BUT WHEN DOES INTERACTION BECOME DISTRACTION.

CNN ANCHOR RICK SANCHEZ IS A TWITTER PIONEER, YET HE AND HIS FOLLOWERS OFTEN SEEM OUT OF SYNC.

WHILE HE'S COVERING THE ECONOMY

>> I TRAVELED TO EUROPE TOMORROW NIGHT TO MEET WITH THE G-20 FINANCE MINISTERS.

>> ...HIS FOLLOWERS ARE TWITERING ABOUT MEXICAN DRUG WARS AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE THE TWITTERING MEDIA NEED TO LET US IN ON THE JOKE.

>> DID YOU JUST TWITTER?

>> I DID TWISTER WHILE MY PIECE WAS ON THE AIR.

>> TWEETING WHILE IN FRONT OF ME.

>> CHRIS WAS TAUNTING ME AND I HAD TO RESPOND.

>> IF ONLY WE COULD KEEP THE TWEETS AND LOSE THE TWITS.

I GOTTA SAY, I WATCHED THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES ON CURRENT TV, WHICH RAN A HALF SCREEN WITH TWEETS IN REAL TIME.

>> AND ENJOYED IT.

>> I HAVE-- YOU KNOW, A YEAR AGO I WAS MAKING FUN OF TWITTER.

I HAVE SINCE FOUND IT TO BE ODDLY COMPELLING AND USEFUL.

I'M NOT SURE IT'S A GREAT TOOL FOR BIG MEDIA TO GET OUT THE WORD ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT YOU FORM YOUR LITTLE COMMUNITY, AND IT BECOMES KIND OF A RUNNING CONVERSATION ABOUT THE NEWS.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT AREN'T REALLY IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO NECESSARILY STICK ON A BLOG POST, BUT YOU MIGHT SAY, HEY, DID YOU SEE THIS?"

AND SOMEBODY ELSE WILL SAY, "OH, DID YOU SEE THAT?"

AND I DON'T KNOW I ACTUALLY FIND IT USEFUL.

YOU PUT UP A QUESTION, YOU GET AN ANSWER.

>> YOU'RE ALWAYS AHEAD OF THE CURVE.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF YOU LUD OUT THERE.

>> SINCE DAN IS NO LONGER MAKING FUN OF TWITTER LET ME DO THAT I FIND THIS IS A CLASSIC CASE OF A FINE TECHNOLOGICAL TOOL BEING SNAPPED UP BY THE MEDIA AND THEY'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT IT AND TAKE IT TO IDIOTIC LEVELS.

SOME OF THE THING DAVID GREGORY-- WHO I REALLY LIKE-- HAS TWITTERED.

MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE A BAGEL BEFORE I DO "MEET THE PRESS."

I'M HOME RIGHT NOW WITH MY KIDS WATCHING "WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY."

I DON'T CARE! THAT'S NOT INTERESTING.

IT'S MILDLY INTERESTING IN A STALKERISH KIND OF WAY, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT ANYBODY BESIDES A 10-YEAR-OLD WHO'S INTERESTED IN WHAT THE JONAS BROTHERS ARE DOING WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT KIND OF DETAIL OF DAVID GREG REAR OR TERRI MORAN.

>> I'M POINTING OUT, YOU'RE READING IT.

GO AHEAD.

>> AS PREPARATION FOR THIS PIECE.

>> I THINK THAT TWITTER BECAME-- BECAME UNHIP THE SECOND THAT DEVAL PATRICK TWEETED.

( LAUGHTER )

AND AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT IS COOL WILL EVENTUALLY BE CORRUPTED.

AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH TWITTER WHERE YOU'VE GOT EVERY CONGRESSMAN, EVERY POLITICIAN, EVERYBODY OUT THERE--

>> JOHN McCAIN.

>> WITH THEIR OWN TWITTER FEED.

AND FRANKLY, SELF-PROMOTING MEDIA HOSTS LIKE RICK SANCHEZ TRYING TO PROMOTE HIS OWN THING AND TO BUILD THEIR SHOWS AND BUILD THEIR RATINGS OR BUILD THEIR CONSTITUENCIES, IN THE CASE OF POLITICIANS.

SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO SORT OF LOOK AT IT.

>> OVER AT CHANNEL 2, TALKING ABOUT TWITTER.

GOT THE PINK TIE ON.

GOING TO RED BONES LATER.

GOING TO HAVE SOME BEER, SOME BEANS.

( LAUGHTER )

YOU KNOW, NOT ALL-- NOT ALL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION ARE EQUAL.

NOT ALL ARE VALUABLE.

AND MY ONLY HOPE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I LEARNED A HILARIOUS FACT A FEW YEARS AGO THAT OVER IN BRITAIN, THE WORD "TRUMP" IS A EUPHEMISM FOR BREAKING WIND.

SO THAT WHENEVER DONALD TRUMP WOULD LAND IN THE HEADLINE, EVERYBODY IS ROYALLING WITH LAUGHTER ON THE STREETS, "TRUMP SAYS...".

ONE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT TWITTER MIGHT TAKE ON A SIMILAR MEANING SO THAT WHEN YOU SAY, "OH, I THINK YOU JUST TWITTED," PEOPLE CAN KNOW TO EITHER LIGHT A MATCH OR TURN AWAY.

>> WELL YOU KNOW WHAT'S FUNNY, WE ARE LOOKING AT TWITTER AS IF IT IS A BIG SUCCESS AND IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF USERS, IT IS.

BUT YOU TALK ABOUT SOMETHING, ABOUT A BUSINESS MODEL, IT COULD BE GONE TOMORROW.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

>> THERE'S NOTHING THERE.

>> AND THEY'RE NOT MAKING ANY MONEY.

AND I SHOULD JUST NOTE LAST NIGHT I NOTICED THAT THE PEOPLE AT ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT NOW HAVE A WHOLE COLUMN OF TWITTERING GOING ON, SO I DON'T THINK.

I THINK THAT IT STILL CAN BE VALUABLE IN SOME NEWS SITUATIONS AND IT'S PROVEN THAT.

BUT I'M WITH YOU.

I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT DAVID GREGORY HAD WITH HIS BAGEL.

>> I CAN BARELY STAND DAVID GREGORY'S INTERVIEWS, THANKFULLY.

>> ALL RIGHT, LUDITES ALL! THAT'S IT FOR "GREATER BOSTON."