Twitter is the New CNN

As Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the world tuned in to the action on CNN – they turned the channel on and left it on until the war was won.

It was the fledgling 24-hour news network’s big moment – no one was yet convinced that all-day, non-stop news was a thing we needed – and CNN really ran with the ball. For the next two decades, CNN was the go-to place anytime something big was going down around the world. Wars, natural disasters, the death of a celebrity, highlights from big sporting events, political elections, nationally followed murder trials and more. It became almost instinctual – something’s happening, you turn on CNN.

Twitter’s filled that role now, fairly completely. It’s faster than CNN plus it encompasses CNN journalists (as well as those of every other network around the world). It’s unedited but eventually gets things right. It’s going to have pictures and video first, plus eyewitness accounts that TV producers simply can’t unearth in time. Unlike CNN, Twitter also delivers instant reactions from our friends, from news professionals, from celebrities, from our favorite smartasses and, not to be outdone, from ourselves.

You name the event – Boston bombing, GOP debate, Olympic ceremonies, Grammys and Oscars, Super Bowl, starlet meltdown, high speed chase, a big athlete gets traded, a storm hits, a season finale shocks us, etc. Twitter is where we all go for the event. The surge in messaging happens and so does an uptick in engagement. The Twitter stream literally comes alive in real-time in a way that CNN’s screen never could. We may have the TV on in the background, but we’re all on our tablets and phones, scrolling Twitter, when the big thing happens.

It’s up to Twitter to really get out there and make this case to advertisers. They own the big events and should be commanding the lion’s share of ads during them, not ceding that ground to the networks just because that’s traditionally what’s happened.

Some of these events are planned well ahead of time (awards shows) and some are spontaneous (terror attacks, earthquakes). Media buyers need to keep this in mind and Twitter’s salespeople need to get this across without over-promising that every week will bring some kind of major moment like Sully landing a plane in the Hudson River or Rupert Murdoch taking a pie in the face. The spontaneous events that send us reaching for our Twitter streams cannot be foreseen – but surely Twitter’s dominance of them now can be foreseen and it has to be worth a ton of money.

As for CNN, I’m not sure how they can ever get their ownership of these moments back. Having anchors reading Twitter into the camera on a 15 minute delay probably isn’t going to do the trick.

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. blazing trader review commented on Sep 27

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 83760 additional Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  2. bitcoin evolution commented on Oct 03

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  3. 홀덤사이트 commented on Nov 29

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  4. td easyweb login commented on Dec 04

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 47120 more Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  5. why not find out more commented on Jan 01

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  6. Library commented on Jan 05

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 91168 additional Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  7. rbc sign in commented on Jan 09

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]

  8. lace front wigs commented on Jan 19

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/03/12/twitter-is-the-new-cnn/ […]