When looking to disseminate breaking news, news organizations should turn first to their Twitter networks, says Amy Gahran of Poynter. Gahran makes her case using the example of a breaking story in Denver, Colorado - a singer's altered rendering of the Star Spangled Banner - and how DenverChannel, a local TV station, neglected to capitalize on the opportunity.

Moments before Denvor Mayor John Hickenlooper was scheduled to deliver his State of the City address, jazz singer Rene Marie performed a controversial version of the national anthem, switching the words with the lyrics from "Lift Every Voice".

Had DenverChannel sent an alert to its followers about the performance, Gahran says, it could have tapped an extraordinary audience within a few minutes.

"Extrapolating the amplification potential of ordinary active Twitter users out across DenverChannel's entire direct Twitter posse, it's possible that the station might have 25,000 people or more Twitter users in its secondhand posse," she writes.

According to Gahran, Twitter offers news organizations the opportunity to reach massive audiences - not directly, but through word of mouth. News organizations risk being tunnel-visioned trying to update breaking news on their websites; Twitter, Gahran says, is where they should be looking.

"When something obviously and deliberately different is happening...that's when your news radar should kick in," she said.

"And especially if you already happen to be streaming live coverage, that's when your Twitter radar should kick in, too."

Here are some recent examples of how Twitter is revolutionizing breaking news coverage.

Source: Poynter E-Media Tidbits