MANILA, Philippines – Back in the day when media meant only TV, radio, and newspapers, audiences had to go out of their way to know the results of the congressional canvass or the housemate voted out of the ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ house. But it’s a different story in the age of 140-character updates and trending topics. Now on Twitter , it’s the news that finds you.

ANC anchor and Twitter user Ricky Carandang  describes the micro-blogging site as “instant gratification.” In an interview on ANC’s ‘Media in Focus’ with Cheche Lazaro, Carandang said he had no plans of joining Twitter but the ABS-CBN management mandated anchors and reporters to tweet. He soon got the hang of it.

“I like interacting with viewers. Twitter is much more instant than a blog, which takes longer to compose. This one, it’s instant gratification.”

It is not just news that Twitter is changing. ABS-CBN’s Bianca Gonzalez  said tweeting empowers viewers of entertainment programs she hosts like PBB and ‘Entertainment Live’ to have their say.

“It’s so real-time. That’s the difference of Twitter to a blog or a Facebook account. You ask a question and not even a minute has passed and someone replies.”

TV personalities to Twitter friends

For Carandang and Gonzalez, tweeting allows media personalities to go out of the box of the television screen and interact with their viewers.

“I can communicate news and other things to an audience that may not necessarily be watching ANC. The demographic of ANC is a little older and the demographic of Twitter is a little younger,” says Carandang.

Gonzalez, who is ‘iamsuperbianca’ to her 178,957 followers, says Twitter humanizes celebrities. “It’s good to have Twitter as an outlet because people know you as a person and not just as a person they watch on TV.”

Social media marketing consultant Carlo Ople (Link to http://twitter.com/carloople) says the presence of public figures on Twitter gives it an edge over other social networking sites that have more users.

“Most people on Twitter are the influential people, the people are ABC and really call the shots so it has a bigger impact on everyone else.”

‘Twitter fail’

Twitter’s benefits to news and entertainment give it an FTW status (stands for “for the win” in Internet lingo) but there are also times when the site is a “fail” (in social media speak, that is not a typo). In Carandang’s case, it was an “epic fail.”

“I had a story the other day and I tweeted it and I thought I had an exclusive but because I was on Twitter, the entire Malacañang Press Corps went after it!”

Carandang also says journalists should take tweets with a grain of salt because not all information on the site is accurate.

For Gonzalez, Twitter exposes stars to a storm of criticism from people known as haters. “People feel they know you and they tell you things. I get affected, of course, by some negative tweets and I know they are just sharing their opinion.”

Not a question

To tweet or not to tweet? Ople says that is not the question because Twitter is here to stay. He predicts that more prominent people and ordinary Filipinos will see the value of the site. Even politicians plan to capitalize on Twitter for the 2013 and 2016 elections.

Ople says the question is how to tweet and this is where media organizations’ guidelines come in.

Carandang says ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs already has policies in place. “I cannot talk too much about my opinion on politics. People ask me who I voted for and I’m not gonna tell you that on Twitter.”

Gonzalez follows a basic rule: no vulgar words, no cussing.

However media personalities tweet or retweet, 140 characters are already changing news and entertainment.

Ople says, “You’re on Twitter and something pops out with a link and you go. It’s more engaging, more personal, more intimate than going to the browser. Now, it’s effortless. The news is there.”

• Media In Focus: Journalists & Stars In The Twitterverse 1/3
• Media In Focus: Journalists & Stars In The Twitterverse 2/3
  
• Media In Focus: Journalists & Stars In The Twitterverse 3/3

‘Media in Focus’ is ANC’s weekly media affairs program anchored by broadcast journalist Cheche Lazaro. It airs on Tuesdays at 9:30 pm and is replayed on Wednesdays at 2:30 pm, Saturdays at 9 pm, and Sundays at 12:30 am Manila time.