Journalists have much to lose if Twitter dies

There has been fevered talk of the platform's imminent demise since billionaire Elon Musk took over last month and began firing vast numbers of staff

Few will lose as much as journalists if Twitter dies, having grown reliant on its endless sources and instant updates despite the dangers and distortions that come with it.

There has been fevered talk of the platform's imminent demise since billionaire Elon Musk took over last month and began firing vast numbers of staff.

But most journalists "can't leave," said Nic Newman, of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. "It's actually a really important part of their work."

Mr. Newman was working at the BBC when Twitter started making waves in 2008 and 2009.

"It was a new Rolodex, a new way of contacting people— fantastic for case studies and... experts," he said.

But Twitter also became a competitor, replacing newsrooms as the source of breaking news for the public when terrorist attacks, natural disasters or any fast-moving story struck.

"Journalists realized they wouldn't always be the ones breaking the news and that their role was going to be different -- more about contextualising and verifying that news," said Mr. Newman.