View of #Ferguson Thrust Michael Brown Shooting to National Attention

[Commentary] For people in the news business, Twitter was initially viewed as one more way to promote and distribute content. But as the world has become an ever more complicated place, Twitter has become an early warning service for news organizations, a way to see into stories even when they don’t have significant reporting assets on the ground. And in a situation hostile to traditional reporting, the crowdsourced, phone-enabled network of information that Twitter provides has proved invaluable.

Police officials in Ferguson (MO) made it clear that they had no interest in accommodating news coverage. News organizations learned about the arrest and harassment of their reporters on Twitter and were able to take steps to get them out of jail. In the meantime, important information continues to flow out of Ferguson. As much as any traditional wire service, Twitter spread the remarkable work of reporters on the ground.