Advent of Specialty Twitter Reporting – #gaza

Watching Search.Twitter.com updates on the Gaza crisis, I’m struck by Twitterers, new and established, being set up to cover the conflict:

@Gazanews

@TweetsfromGaza

@AJGaza Al Jazeera Gaza

@intifada

@mbaa

@Concernedlocal

@supportisrael

Updates:

@nazek88

@mominisrael

@muqata

@mrphilpot

@elizrael

@israelright

I don’t see any Twitterers reporting from inside Gaza, or even Israel, so all the commentary are retweets of mass media news or propagandizing. (update: @nazek88 is apparently reporting from Gaza)

This ad hoc Twitter reporting reminds me of the rise of CNN’s Christine Amanpour, who achieved fame by reporting live on the 1990 Persian Gulf War. Anybody Twittering with domain knowledge of Gaza and Israeli Palestinian relations has the opportunity to provide substantive commentary to a world, including the global mass media, craving real time news and analysis of the situation.

This is a window of opportunity for any citizen journalist to connect with the world at a time of crisis. After the Gaza crisis passes, the Twitterer can continue to position themselves to cover the Palestinian Israeli relationship, and change the Twitter handle appropriately.

Update 1/5/09 12:20am PST: Al Jazeera has set up a special War on Gaza site that allows participants to submit Twitter reports by @AJGaza. So far only a disappointing two reports. (h/t Altered Perspective)

Tagged as: #gaza, @ajgaza, Al Jazeera, Amanpour, CNN, Hamas, Israel, Twitter