The new news cycle

It's an axiom of our times that we live in a 24/7 news cycle. Events burn white-hot at the start, arc quickly, then get eclipsed by the next story -- and all this happens round-the-clock.

It's also well proven that social media** plays a big role in getting the news out about momentous events around the world. Examples: the protests in Iran, the revolution in Egypt, the ongoing strife in Syria.

Sunday's astounding news that the United States had hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden gives us the clearest demonstration yet of an even more compressed news cycle. Cyberjournalist Stacey Higginbotham suggests we're seeing a new phenomenon: "The 7 Stages of News in a Twitter and Facebook Era"

1. Excitement
2. Uncertainty
3. Searching for validation
4. Confirmation
5. Jokes, profits and platitudes
6. Action
7. Real analysis

I think she's nailed it. I urge you to click on the link above to read the full article (it's very short) and then answer these questions:

How did you learn the news?
Where were you?
To what degree do you rely on social media for the news?

** I learned of Higginbotham's article late Tuesday, thanks to a tweet from a twentysomething co-worker who's risen from part-time copy aide to full-time social media coordinator for the newsroom, sending and monitoring tweets and helping to manage our home page.

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