Why most education reporters are sticking with Twitter — for now

Education journalists including Sarah Karp, Eder Campuzano, and Alyson Klein describe their complicated relationships with the industry’s dominant social media platform

By Alexander Russo and Colleen Connolly

Recent events surrounding Twitter have thrown many journalists and others into a bit of a tizzy. Some say that they are leaving. Some are staying. “But where will we tweet?” quipped Vox.

For many journalists, the platform has been a convenient way to keep up with colleagues and gather story ideas. For younger journalists, especially, Twitter has been an invaluable place for networking, gathering information, and finding social support.

But even before Elon Musk bought Twitter and started making sudden changes, it seemed clear that a lot of education journalists had started skipping out on the social media platform or limiting their participation. The platform was too toxic, too repetitive (thanks, algorithm!), or too self-selecting to be useful.

Curious about education journalists’ experiences and plans going forward, we asked a handful about their experiences and their thought processes — and took a look around at what people were saying on the platform itself.

As you’ll see, this small and not necessarily representative group of responses reveals that education journalists have been becoming more careful about how they use Twitter and how much time they spend on it. Some are actively exploring other options, whether or not Twitter survives, including newer alternatives (think Mastodon) and familiar ones (think LinkedIn). But for now at least, most seem to be sticking it out.

“For now, I’m sticking with Twitter,” writes former education reporter Olivia Krauth of the Courier Journal. “It has become central to how I operate as a reporter and I simply don’t see a clear alternative quite yet.”

“For now, I’m sticking with Twitter,” writes former education reporter Olivia Krauth of the Courier Journal. “I simply don’t see a clear alternative quite yet.”

Like many others, author and former NPR education reporter Anya Kamenetz has found Twitter to be a mixed bag.

“In the past I’ve enjoyed the immediacy with which I can find experts in a specific field, be in conversation with my colleagues, and connect to sources,” she told us. However, “during the pandemic it was a poor and toxic substitute for being out in the real world talking to real people.”

Several folks have described toxic experiences on the site, including harassment.

“Twitter hasn’t been the same for me since harassment in ’18 and ’19 when I started covering so-called school ‘culture wars’ in Arizona,” tweeted the Detroit Free Press’s Lily Altavena. “After that, I started to retreat and I share a lot less these days. Which I think generally is better for my mental health.”

However, Altavena notes that many journalists have built up a community of colleagues and readers that would be hard to leave.

“I know some of you are anxious about whether Twitter will remain in our lives as reporters,” she notes. “But it is by no means a measure of your professional success.”

And many other journalists say that they are still on the site, albeit reluctantly.

“Yes, unfortunately. It seems necessary,” independent journalist Bekah McNeel told us. “I gain access to sources and can watch reactions to events and decisions.”

What does McNeel lose from being on Twitter? “Time and hope for civilization”

“I know some of you are anxious about whether Twitter will remain in our lives as reporters,” notes the Detroit Free Press’s Lily Altavena. “But it is by no means a measure of your professional success.”

Several journalists told us that Twitter’s main or best use is following industry news, as opposed to cultivating sources or learning new things about schools:

“My favorite part of Twitter is keeping up with the work of journalist friends who work at other newsrooms,” writes The 74’s Asher Lehrer-Small. “It’s easy to celebrate folks who publish big stories or take new roles.”

Others value it for exposing them to different perspectives.

“What I gain most from Twitter is getting to read different perspectives from those I follow, and hearing about issues and topics that might not be on my radar,” writes CT Hearst Media’s Jacqueline Rabe Thomas.

Others continue to tout its value for live tweeting events and live fact checking:

“I have mostly used Twitter for the specific purpose of live tweeting meetings, ongoing situations, and breaking news,” notes WBEZ Chicago’s Sarah Karp. “Live tweeting press conferences and meetings, as well as breaking news, is especially helpful for people who have jobs and cannot attend meetings… but who want to know what is going on.”

The site also helps reporters avoid having to write short updates.

“I can share smaller bits of info and analysis here,” notes the Courier Journal’s Krauth, who recently moved over to the politics beat. Social media micro-sharing “frequently saves me from needing to write short, boring, pointless stories.”

“Live tweeting press conferences and meetings, as well as breaking news, is especially helpful for people who have jobs and cannot attend meetings… but who want to know what is going on,” says WBEZ Chicago’s Sarah Karp.

While several education reporters say they are exploring Mastodon and other alternatives, some think that journalists should go where their readers are (ie, Facebook). And others like EdWeek’s Alyson Klein are looking at LinkedIn:

“I haven’t found a platform as handy as Twitter for finding sources (especially educators),” writes Klein, who recently reported a story about educators and Twitter. She plans to stay on the site for now, but “I’m putting my energy into mastering other platforms that seem to be driving more eyeballs to our work, like LinkedIn.”

Regardless of the current hullabaloo, a few education journalists say that they’re staying for now, if only to prove a point.

“I may be naïve, but I feel compelled to stay here in the way I feel compelled to teach my 4-year-old daughter that you shouldn’t let yourself be bullied out of any conversation or space,” tweeted longtime education journalist Sarah Carr.

However, some reporters’ views have intensified in recent weeks, as Twitter-related concerns have continued to grow:

“I’m probably on social media as much as I’ve ever been, although its utility as a reporting tool has waned considerably over the last couple of years,” writes the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Eder Campuzano. “I am, however, considering drastically scaling back or otherwise halting my Twitter activity altogether.”

“Twitter had long been a way for me to keep up with journalism industry news and with BIPOC reporters and editors I’ve met during conferences and workshops. But the capricious nature of the decision-making over the last few weeks and Musk’s embrace of conspiracy theories and open smearing of former employees and critics makes me question how ethical it is for us to remain on the platform,” he writes.

Previously from The Grade:

Education journalists are being left behind on Twitter 

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