C-SPAN Embraces Twitter, but Many Media Guests Don't

C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" (@cspanwj) has aggressively incorporated Twitter into its question-and-answer segments, yet many of the show's guests still haven't embraced the medium. At least, that's the conclusion one would draw from this video put together by the good folks at C-SPAN.

The clip starts off with yours truly (follow me @mattklewis), followed by Bill Press, who'd rather be "eaten alive by ants than Twitter." Syndicated columnist Mark Shields then notes that Twitter "sounds a little bit like a nervous condition" and that it seems "self indulgent" and "narcissistic."

George Will's excuse is, "I barely use email." And Newsweek's Jon Meacham calls it a "fascinating phenomenon" but says he's not using Twitter because "if anyone wants to call me, I'm available."

The Christian Science Monitor's Gail Russell Chaddock is new to Twitter, and says she has "seventeen followers."

Sam Donaldson says he is not on Twitter, but he does make interesting points regarding the pros and cons of the medium. Helen Thomas takes a very anti-Twitter stance, telling students at Pace University: "No standards. Everyone with a laptop thinks they're a journalist."

"Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer says he's on Twitter, but one gets the feeling his staff may be in charge of that. Vanity Fair contributing editor James Wolcott says he hasn't gotten on Twitter because "it's like Facebook. I keep thinking the moment I get into it is the moment it'll be over."

I'll let you draw your own conclusions regarding any correlation between the demise of traditional media and the elites' refusal to adapt to emerging technologies.

And though the C-SPAN guests were generally behind the curve regarding this technology, it should also be noted that a few mainstream media personalities, such as ABC News' Jake Tapper, the Atlantic's Marc Ambinder, and Howard Kurtz and Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, are all prolific on Twitter.

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