Twitter - the future of news?

1. I would like to examine how Twitter is changing the relationship between readers and the news media, specifically the Austin American-Statesman.
   
2. Many stories have been written about micro-blogging, and how Twitter is being used by various news outlets. However, a majority of these stories have been written specifically for other journalists and news industry people. I'd like to write a story that is more general; something that looks at both what is happening for the Statesman, but also the benefits and drawbacks Twitter has for news consumers. Also, because I'm focusing on the Austin American-Statesman, that gives the story a local twist.
   
3. A slide show would be a great way to present this story, because (as I mentioned), it hasn't really been written for the general public yet. I feel like keeping the story concise and to the point, like one must do in slide show presentations, will help readers really understand what Twitter is, and what it means for news. It lends itself to visual representations, like screen shots, photos of people updating and receiving updates via cell phone, and TweetUps, meetings that take place among Twitter users.
   
4. The text I plan to use includes insight from the Statesman's main Twitter man, Robert Quigley. I profiled him for another class, so he is a ready source I have at my disposal. I'd also love to contact some of the Statesman's Twitter followers, and ask them why they use it, what they like about it, etc. I'd then like to find some Statesman readers who do not follow the Statesman's Twitter, and find out why not. For pictures, I mentioned above my ideas: screen shots of the Twitter website, photos of cell phone updates, and TweetUp pictures. I could also take some photos of the non-Twitter readers reading either the Statesman website, or the newspaper.