Twitter: And that’s the way it is

For years, Walter Cronkite was the news.   That’s where America got the news, straight from Walter Cronkite on CBS.  The bond with his audience was unmistakable, and unshakable.  But let’s go back to November 22 of 1963.  When President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, it took 38 minutes from the time he was pronounced dead, to the time Uncle Walter broke the news to a stunned nation.

Fast forward to 2009, and an excellent article from MG Siegler.  He has concluded, rightly, that the news now operates at the speed of Twitter.  Today’s Tiger Woods story (PDF) went around the globe in the click of a mouse.  Some people, especially non-users, will either not “get it,” or see it as frivolous.  Fair enough.  But Twitter is a brand that’s changing the way the news is covered.  For better or worse.cronkite_w_bio1