Home Earthquake in UK? News Broken on Twitter

Earthquake in UK? News Broken on Twitter

It would appear that an earthquake was just felt across the UK (hopefully not a major one!). Where did the news first break? Well, we heard about it over Twitter. It’s all over the site, including being broken on Twitter-based news organization BreakingNewsOn, which is reporting a 5.3 magnitude earthquake in the UK with minimal damage reported so far. Where didn’t we hear about the quake? The mainstream press.

This story broke over Twitter in the past half hour, and nothing is up yet on the BBC sites, the Guardian, or the Telegraph. This story is breaking live on Twitter.

That’s something we’ve been seeing more and more of recently. During the California wildfires last fall, we saw Twitter and other citizen journalism tools being used by people who were on the ground in those areas scooping the mainstream press. As we noted in January, Twitter breaks the news cycle down to seconds, allowing instantaneous distribution of breaking news as it breaks — faster even than blogs or television.

We predicted that Twitter would “become an increasingly more important point for the distribution of breaking news during 2008, to the extent that traditional journalists will begin to pay more and more attention to it the way they have to blogs.” This evening’s earthquake in England, which was first broken over the microblogging service, is proof positive of Twitter’s value as a vehicle for news distribution.

Note: Just to drive home the point, the BBC had the story up a full 35-40 minutes after we first heard about it via Twitter. Not bad by any means, but that just further illustrates how much Twitter breaks down the news cycle.

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.