Original prompt for discussion:Review the journalists’ Twitter posts for the past week. Examine how often they post, what type of posts they make (are they commenting on current events or promoting their own stories?), and how many people engage with them (replies, retweets, favorites). Do they make any personal tweets or jokes, or are they all business?

For the discussion, choose two of the journalists and post your observations from above. Write a very brief bio of each journalist (name, organization, beat, etc.). State your opinion on the quality and frequency of their posts. From what you can glean about their personality and work habits from their Twitter account, discuss how you would approach each journalist to pitch a story idea.

Peer #1

The two journalists I chose to discuss are Eugene Scott and Craig Melvin.

Out of the 5 journalists I reviewed this week, I enjoyed Eugene’s page the most. Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott on Twitter) is a journalist with the Washington Post. He is very active, consistently tweeting at least once a day and often interacting and engaging with followers. He stays up to date on current events, his commentaries often surrounding social issues, like injustices and discrimination. He seems to have a very down-to-earth, funny personality with an obvious passion for his work (that is probably why he is currently one of the most influential journalists in the industry).

If I were to approach him with a pitch, I would try to be as authentically myself as I could. I wouldn’t focus on things like tactics and strategies necessarily; I would take a more personal approach. I would make sure the story idea was something I was truly passionate about, as well as something that aligns with Eugene’s interests/values. By pitching a story idea on something we are both passionate about, it would be more likely to get his attention and coverage.

The next journalist is Craig Melvin (@CraigMelvin on Twitter). Craig is a journalist with MSNBC as well as the Today Show. His bio includes that he is also a husband and a father, and he often posts many pictures of his children. However, this seems to be as personal as he gets on his page. All of his other content seems to be very politically and professionally focused. He is also very active on his page, only tweeting about once every few days, but retweeting stories/articles frequently throughout the day.

My approach if I were to pitch to Craig would be a bit different, but I would still make sure the story idea was relevant to his content. He seems to be more reserved, so I would take a more professional approach — keeping it short and simple, as well as being mindful of the proper business etiquette.

Peer #2

If I were to pick two, to talk about, I’m going to review Brit Hume and Ashley Parker.

Brit Hume BIO: Sr. Political Analyst, Fox News Channel. Arguments welcome. Name callers & verbal abusers blocked. Parler Acct: BritHumeFoxNews

Multiple posts daily. Mostly re-tweets. Some with or without his commentary.

2/3/21: Post about AOC and her comments about the conspiracy.

2/3/21: Biden now wants an­other $1.9 tril­lion bill, which would fur­ther swell po­ten­tial pur­chas­ing power and im­pede pro­duction by more than dou­bling the minimum ­wage and pay­ing more than half of un­em­ployed peo­ple more than they make work­ing.”

2/3/2021: Questioning sports and politics before the super Bowl.

2/4/21: Re-tweeted a photo of the riot. Showing an inappropriate picture on the wall.

2/5/21: The new focus on universal Covid vaccination, which appears unattainable, may further delay America’s return to normalcy, writes Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo

2/5/21: Re-tweeted another tweet about some scandalous issue.

2/6/21: Story about football (mask less) celebration and the “hype” that did not happen.

2/8/21: Re-tweeted some religious quotes/passages from a relative.

2/8/21: Re-tweeted a story about a large number of parents and children crossing the border, overwhelming shelters and border patrol stations.

2/8/21: (Re-tweet) The big reason given on social media for a ban now is that X failed to meet “community standards”. Can’t stop laughing. Like Facebook is a peer-reviewed philosophy journal. “Community” now means either a group of total strangers or an algorithm. “Standards” means nothing.

It wasn’t until I reviewed ALL of the others’ tweets that I realized his tweets are either just re-tweets with little to no commentary from him, or “rants” about his rival political party. Almost as if it was driven BY Fox news, and that’s all. Nothing that shows his personality or flair. (One exception, there are random quotes from the bible as tweets from someone with the same last name. Wife? Daughter?)

Ashley Parker BIO: White House Bureau Chief for Washington Post Newspaper, MSNBC and NBCNews.

Lots of tweets. Many were re-tweets. Both of her articles in the WaPO paper, and from her co-workers. Various topics including podcasts, food, relationships. She balances personal interests and very often promotes herself or her co-workers. It was actually fun to read what she had to say.

2/2/21: Retweet about immigration. “Biden administration plans to raise the annual refugee cap to 125,000 people, per two sources — following thru on a campaign pledge. The refugee cap now is 15,000, a historic low.”

2/3/21: Retweet about being optimism for humanity.

2/3/21: Promoting a live event she’s participating in.

2/4/21: Gossipy tweet about nicknames in the white house.

2/4/21: Feel good piece (retweet) about the marriage of Mandy Patinkin.

2/4/21: Tweet about Trump’s withdrawal from the SAG_AFTRA membership.

2/4/21: Retweet from one senator making an announcement telling Senator Rand Paul to wear a mask.

2/5/21: Re-tweet about the vote for the budget bill.

2/5/21: Re-tweet about working mothers in America.

2/5/21: Re-tweet about Trumps process for pardoning.

2/5/21: Re-tweet about the Capitol insurrection and shaming for the trauma.

2/6/21: Re-tweet of her Washington Post article from 1 month ago about the Capitol Insurrection.

2/6/21: Tweet about a podcast she enjoyed.

According to Wilcox & Reber, public relations writers must keep their information meaningful to consumers. The end goal of Tweets are to have them re-tweeted by others, continuing the information circulation (Wicox & Reber, 2016).

I feel Ashley spoke more to me than Brit Hume. I enjoyed her random tweets about things she liked or podcasts she found interesting.