Teen Heroes, Twitter Journalism & Media Transparency

“Look, listen, live,” declares Operation Lifesaver in this railroad warning. Whew. I’ll say.

David Armano, one of our Age of Conversation co-authors, offers this show-n-tell of Twitter media used to report on the scene when witnessing a 17-year old rescue an elderly woman from the train tracks, captured in ‘citizen journalism’ style.

Aside from being a refreshingly positive example of everyday teens applauded for doing the right thing, (as opposed to negative reports of kids uploading their backsides onto MySpace profiles) this is one of those stories that you hope media will promote like wildfire. This could alter the new media landscape in some interesting ways.

David Armano scooped BOTH the Chicago Tribune and CNN video footage using Twitter to provide an eyewitness account of this heroic teen, who turns out to be a part-time lifeguard named Tom Foust.

LONG before the official news teams took hold, David’s Twitter transcript shows how the drama unfolded, as the teenagers literally saved this woman’s life in front of his eyes. Later he blogged his experience in recap mode, awed by the teens’ selfless instincts and bravery.

So…ahem. Remember this Twitter article I wrote, wondering how media minutiae would evolve in a purposeful context beyond kids’ tweeting about who’s where and ‘whasssup’ among peers? Looks like we’ve got some answers…Twitter has obvious merits in logistical environs like the Virginia Tech school shootings, and we’ve seen sustainability tips via Twitter’s LiveEarth cause-marketing platform, along with suggestions for productive use of Twitter by the Lifehacker blog, and now? Twitter journalism via roving field reporting…

David wrote, “It all happened within seconds. I saw 2 young men dash away from the car and literally dive into the weeds next to the tracks. They were holding something. SECONDS later–no more than 5 or so, TWO diesel trains ripped the car to shreds. It might have been a scene out of a movie. I pulled over my bike to where the teenagers were and two boys emerged from the weeds carrying an elderly woman. Turns out she mistakenly made a right turn on the tracks and ended up facing an ongoing train. Her car was stuck on the tracks and she was disoriented…

…I was there, and I captured what I saw with my own eyes via Twitter.”

Field reporters take note, media tools like Twitter have created a transparency and authenticity among citizen journalists that’s worthy of exploration…

David’s firsthand, emotive, live-news “Twitter feed” could even have global implications for the ways teens might receive “breaking news.” Considering this recent Harvard study said about 60% of teens are basically inattentive to daily news overall, we could use some new ways to make news relevant in the lives of teens!

I hope blogosphere biggies like Robert Scoble continue to pick up this Heroes story and pay it forward as well, for it’s a life-changing experience for all who are touched by selfless acts, renewing hope, vision, and promise for humanity far beyond the headlines themselves. As David Armano reminds us,

“Heroes still exist–and the real ones aren’t on a television show and don’t have special powers, they’re people like you and me. Those were a couple of brave kids. They cheated death by SECONDS. They didn’t think, they acted. Tonight, there’s a family and possibly some grandchildren out there who can be very thankful that a couple of outstanding young adults “did the right thing.”

To me, Twitter’s little slice of life reality reports could snag some unreported gems…Could be a refreshing alternative to “if it bleeds it leads” journalism, as there’s no vested interest in seeing the story get coverage for ratings fare. That’s what splashed ME out of the ABC-tv news affil. pool early on with my disdain and disgust for yellow journalism. Yep. Took my rubber ducky and found new waters to swim in…

Could ‘real news’ becoming the ultimate ‘reality media’ for youth seeking authenticity? Imagine the irony…

I’m not saying any Twitterati with texting prowess should be given factual validity and a carte blanche press pass, I’m saying that sensationalism aside, citizen journalism has the advantage of a very real, ‘you are there’ media moment, worthy of attention when put into context.

Twitter opens an interesting dialogue on how new media structures can broaden content into a collective knowledge respository (as Doug Engelbart would say) to achieve accuracy and detail more rapidly than traditional fact checking systems.

Obviously, the 140 character count for Twitter is limiting, and all eyewitness accounts are subject to circumspection, but I’m truly baffled by critics who dismiss Twitter as not viable (or even risky) for breaking news.

After all, when you deconstruct mainstream news reports you can see how blatantly inconsistent they are, often at complete odds with one another. Time and again journalists rely on the domination of wire services, power pundits and behemoths to cut through the credibility and chaos…And all too often what goes out on that wire is recanted in follow ups.

Seems to me Twitter’s transparency has perhaps even a higher chance of gleaning credible, substantive information if everyone’s exchanging views from their own lens and corroborating evidence on the spot, so to speak.

Mind you, I also see the media conundrum of giving that type of content too much weight, for ‘in the foxhole’ journalism is spin and skew every which way, with media bias everywhere, new school, old school, or some mashup in between.

Twitter journalism that’s relevant to youth for its authenticity (earthquakes, disaster relief, etc.) could just as easily be hijacked by guerilla marketers eager to leverage the ‘eyewitness news’ angle leading to ‘staged events’ and smart mob antics too…We sure don’t need more ways to spoof real news with PR tactic style and blur reality lines with branding practices. (Remember the cartoon stunt with Err in Boston creating ‘terrorist’ confusion?)

Just seems to me that with the democratization of the internet and new media, Twitter journalism has the opportunity to ‘tell it like it is’ much like YouTube youth video has become the PR conundrum of anyone trying to bury a skeleton (political, corporate, or socially sensitive).

So in addition to being authentic, there’s the potential to bring stories like “Heroes” to light that are often usurped by campy vampy celebrity fare. So I say, “tweet away” you Twitter buffs and teens to SEED these kinds of positive stories about what youth are REALLY up to in real life…

As mainstream media is mired in fact checking for ‘Truemors’ (excellent example here using the train track post to demo how Guy Kawasaki’s Truemors site works, by the way) it seems that if positive incidents are reported enough times they’ll eventually post media coverage that will reach a wider audience en masse, and slowly turn this tanker around to bring the cream to the top and the sludge to the bottom.

It’s a poignant reminder for all of us who feel we’re on a runaway media train to shift to a more positive track without slamming on the brake and fouling up the works.

Sooooo….Here’s to all the teens, youth heroes and positive media moments that haven’t made the headlines this month.

They’re certainly there. I guess someone just needs to Twitter them to land a blip on the mainstream media radar.