Twitter ’a waste of time’ and irrelevant to journalists

High-profile journalists have deemed the use of social media platform Twitter to be a waste of time and say its relevance to the media industry is waning.

ABC’s Leigh Sales: ‘It’s also well past time for mainstream media to stop reporting reaction on Twitter as if it signifies anything.’ Picture Renee Nowytarger

High-profile journalists including 7.30 host Leigh Sales have voiced their concerns about Twitter’s relevance to the industry, with an increasing number of media professionals opting to abandon the site altogether.

Sales last week described the online attacks on “some of the straightest journalists in the country” as “extreme” and “unhinged bullying”, and said reactions on the site shouldn’t be reported as daily news.

“It’s also well past time for mainstream media to stop reporting reaction on Twitter as if it signifies anything,” she said.

The comments came after ABC breakfast host Lisa Millar shut down her Twitter account after copping ongoing abuse.

There are more than 330 million active Twitter users per month and it’s proven a popular platform for journalists, commentators, politicians and the general public to share opinions, news snippets and links to articles, but many journalists now view the platform as a complete waste of time.

News.com.au columnist and 2GB commentator Joe Hildebrand has 85,000 Twitter followers and had his account hacked in February.

He said this was “a sign from God” to stop using the platform once he managed to reclaim ownership of his profile.

Hildebrand’s final tweet was on February 13 and he vowed it would be his last.

ABC breakfast host Lisa Millar. Picture: Will Belcher

“It doesn’t reflect what mainstream Australia thinks — it actually reflects the opposite,” he told The Australian. “So you have loud, fanatical obsessive voices dominating political debate and yet when you see the outcomes of elections the complete opposite result is reflected.”

Hildebrand referred to Donald Trump’s win in the 2016 US election and Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s 2019 election victory.

“At best it’s useless, at worst it’s misleading in terms of a barometer of public opinion. It’s like the Roman Colosseum, it’s just a venue for a mass mob pile-on and a public execution,” Hildebrand said.

“It’s a complete waste of time, it’s like a tornado in a sewer.”

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller shut down his account last year and at the time said “the negatives far outweigh the positives”, while the ABC was forced to update its social media policy for staff after several of its high-profile journalists posted remarks on Twitter that were deemed offensive, inappropriate and, on occasion, defamatory.

Channel 7 Melbourne reporter and former Channel 10 Bachelorette Georgia Love also quit Twitter last week after copping abuse following an Instagram post seen as racist. It also resulted in her issuing an apology, being taken off air and put on the station’s production desk.

Seven CEO James Warburton said staff at his network were “very clear” on what the company’s expectations are when it comes to social media, and he said all journalists should be aware of the dangers of the various platforms.

Nine’s 3AW Melbourne morning host, Neil Mitchell, is one of many in the radio world to voice his frustration with Twitter and said he was unable to have a decent discussion on the site.

Last month he tweeted: “I started the day thinking we could have a sensible discussion about decency on Twitter. I now give up.”

The Age’s chief reporter, Chip Le Grand, said he had considered leaving the platform altogether but said it can be a “convenient way of getting across breaking news”.

“I don’t think for a journalist there’s much to be gained, I don’t think it drives a lot of traffic towards your newspaper,” he said.

“I don’t think it particularly helps you as a journalist one way or another.”

Twitter was contacted for comment but did not respond.

Originally published as Twitter ’a waste of time’ and irrelevant to journalists