CNN’s Rick Sanchez, who uses social media outlets such as Twitter and
Facebook, had his laptop at the ready while reporting on Hurricane
Ike. Image courtesy of CNN.
A little less than two weeks ago, many people in the nation were stunned when the U.S. House of Representatives voted not to approve a $700 billion financial bailout package, with many congressmen saying they were carrying out their constituents’ wishes.
The bailout had to be passed, a lot of observers had said. Wasn’t that obvious?
Well, I knew there were a lot of people who thought that wasn’t so obvious, and it’s not because I’m some sort of genius swami or more in touch with the average Joe than a six-pack of PBR.
No, I’ll honestly say that insight came from watching Rick Sanchez from 3 to 4 p.m. weekdays on CNN Newsroom.
Sanchez had caught my eye a few months back when CNN was on at my desk and I noticed that he was heavily referencing posts to his Facebook and Twitter pages. The social media outlets drive a healthy percentage of Sanchez’s newscast with ongoing commentary.
For those who don’t live their lives online, Facebook and MySpace, which Sanchez also uses, are social media sites that allow members to relay what they are up to and engage in conversations online. Twitter is what is known as micro-blogging, allowing users to “tweet,” or share bursts of thought or information in 140 characters or fewer.
On Newsroom, there are days when the social media simply provide interesting chats about what’s being covered on the show, sort of like high-tech talking heads at the bottom of the screen as in Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
At other times, though, it gets quite significant, as in the days leading up to that first vote on the bailout.
“I am frankly appalled that, we, (sic) the taxpayers are not able to vote on how our money is being thrown away,” a Twitter poster wrote on the Sept. 23 show.
The day before, a tweet read, “It’s highly ironic that the same people that scare average Americans about evil socialized medicine are now cheering socialized capitalism.”
This week, the drama on Sanchez’s show has been spiked a bit by the fact that he is on the air during the final hour of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The social media has had other interesting manifestations, including during Hurricane Ike, when Sanchez was reading Twitter posts from people at or near the center of the storm.
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