TV's top tweeple talk Twitter

She tweets during commercials. He tweets from court. Another tweeted for the first time ever on Tuesday. But no matter how or when they sound off, all three Valley television personalities turn to new technology as an extension of their jobs.

Clearly, a reporter’s bio on the television station web site is no longer enough. From MySpace to LinkedIn to Facebook, being connected is a must. The newest darling of the internet is Twitter, the service that allows members, sometimes called "Tweeple", to post short updates (“tweets”) that can appear instantly on the computer screens of all who are watching.

“I thought it would be a great way for me to connect with viewers,” said KTVK (Channel 3)’s Beverly Kidd. “To blog or Twitter about the news and connect with people that way.” And has she ever connected! In a previous column, Kidd ranked at the top of the list of Phoenix television Tweeple. Fans who follow her Tweets know that she is online throughout her nightly 9pm newscast. Sometimes her posts relate to the news stories; sometimes they give behind-the-scenes insight: “Technical problems tonight. Yikes!”

Over at KPHO (Channel 5), Sean McLaughlin is his station’s most prolific Twitterer. “Twitter is so RIGHT NOW,” he wrote me. “It’s like your Facebook wall on steroids… it’s immediate and fresh, and you never know what you will find.”

Increasingly, reporters are using it to find story ideas. McLaughlin picked up a hot story one night: just reading other Tweets. “Some tweeps were tweeting about people posting their ASU grad tickets on Craig’s list…in two hours with the help of my fellow tweeps, we broke that story to the market at 10pm!!”

Tim Vetscher at KNXV (Channel 15) reaches out to other “Tweeple” roughly once a week. As Phoenix prepared to shatter a record for May heat, he tweeted, “No surprise here...doing a story on the heat today. If anyone has an idea for a unique weather-related story, send it my way! Thanks!” Postings like that helped propel Vetscher to the top Twitterer spot at Channel 15, surpassing weeknight anchor Katie Raml.

Broadcasters are enthusiastic about using Twitter not only for news gathering, but also for news casting. KPNX (Channel 12)’s Brahm Resnik attended the Phoenix Coyotes’ bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday and sent Tweets directly from the courtroom, giving a play-by-play account of the attorneys’ interactions. That kind of solid and immediate information keeps Resnik at the top of the 12News heap when it comes to Twitter.

The KSAZ (Channel 10) morning team was all a-twitter Tuesday about finally getting co-anchor Andrea Robinson on the bandwagon with the rest of the on-air folks. Anchor Rick D’Amico is Fox10’s most active personality on Twitter and #3 overall for the Valley’s television media. He cracked a joke while helping Robinson sign on during the “Fox10 Arizona morning” show. “The people at Twitter, by the way, have added new servers in anticipation.” And despite Robinson’s protests, “I’m boring! No one wants to know what I’m doing,” less than an hour later she had 72 followers.

Of course, most Twitter users are not in the news business and instead post updates about their life, their observations and opinions. That is part of what draws KTVK’s Carey Pena to the site. “I like to follow people who I find interesting, brutally honest and intelligent.” Ranked #2 in Arizona television tweeters, Pena has 2,000 followers and follows 658 people. Some of her favorite Tweeple include politicians and sports figures including Shaquille O’Neal. “Shaq is very clever,” she said in an email to me. “Actually when I first started following him, I sent a tweet asking for confirmation that it was the real Shaq. He called and left me a voice message. You can’t mistake that voice.”

McLaughlin also follows Shaq, other local Tweeple and several friends in P.R. “There are some terrific public relations/government folks on there that constantly generate story ideas on an hourly basis.”

Charlotte Risch Shaff falls into that category. As the owner of PR agency The Media Push, She thinks of Twitter as a “micro-blog” because of its 140-character limit on what users can type. “It’s not a place to just post what you ate for breakfast or just talk about yourself,” she said. “Those who find Twitter to be effective will share, educate and discuss with others.” Several times a day Shaff reminds followers and media contacts about clients via the site. In response to a friend who had taken his vehicle to a chain repair facility, Shaff twittered for all to see, “Use a local repair shop...like a Narpro.com one. (PR Client Plug for the day)”

Savvy media folk will turn their Twitter accounts into a connection with viewers. Said McLaughlin, “I tweeted live when the Hausner verdict was read and was able to read viewers’ IMMEDIATE feedback on-air. That is powerful stuff!”

With more than 3,000 followers, Kidd is the top TV twitterer in Phoenix. She even has avid fans at competing television stations. One of those, who for obvious reasons preferred to remain anonymous, told me, “I actually tweet with Bev Kidd a lot and she likes the instant feedback during her show, and it gets her out there among the viewers.” She agreed. “People are so addicted to it,” she said. “They’ve made it so easy for us to use, so why not do it?”

Shaff warns that like any piece of technology, it can suck you in and away from other productive work. “Yes, its another social media site that may take up your time, but if you use it effectively, you'll find it saves you time on making numerous calls or emails.”

Vetscher tweeted about exactly that on a recent afternoon. “Twitter has been a huge time saver...makes my job a lot easier.”

Then there are those that just don’t like it. A number of top broadcasters in Phoenix do not subscribe to the “Tweet-or-die” mentality. Of the evening news anchors in town, no accounts could be found for Patti Kirkpatrick (Channel 3), Catherine Anaya (Channel 5), John Hook or Kari Lake (both Channel 10). Fox10’s Robinson resisted the pull for months. “I swore up and down I wouldn’t do it,” she said on air just prior to signing up. “And now I’m doing it.”

McLaughlin is passionate about his successes with the site, but knows there are limits. “Some people expect you to be on there 24/7…get outside people!”

That advice seems questionable now that it’s 100-plus degrees outside. But hey, you can then go home and Tweet about it. News people are listening.