After years of rejecting the “media company” label, Twitter is hiring Periscope editors, broadcasting news alerts, and airing premium live video
If you're wondering whether Twitter views itself as a media company or not, take a look at its careers page. Tweets: @trengriffin , @kantrowitz , @peterhimler , @eileenmcarey , @johnpaczkowski , @jayfranzone , @mediashiftorg , @catecoleman , @kantrowitz , and @emersongreg Tweets: Tren Griffin / @trengriffin : You can expect my http://25iq.com/ post next weekend to address the wacky desire of Twitter to recreate Yahoo's declining business. http://twitter.com/... Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz : Going big on media while competitors hesitate may give Twitter a head start. And more importantly: an identity. Peter Himler / @peterhimler : Twitter as media company: https://www.buzzfeed.com/... (@Kantrowitz/@BuzzFeedNews) Smart take. $TWTR (h/t @davewiner) Eileen Carey / @eileenmcarey : Really really digging Twitters direction for 2017 https://www.buzzfeed.com/... John Paczkowski / @johnpaczkowski : Twitter eventually wants to run these premium live videos 24/7 on its platform, according to a person with familiar with company's thinking. https://twitter.com/... Jay Franzone / @jayfranzone : Twitter is embracing it's role as a “media company” after all - it's #WhatsHappening https://www.buzzfeed.com/... MediaShift / @mediashiftorg : .@Twitter is hiring for editors. http://buff.ly/2hyjv4s Cate / @catecoleman : Twitter's changing corporate culture and transformation into a curated media platform @Kantrowitz @BuzzFeedNews https://www.buzzfeed.com/... Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz : As Facebook waffles on media co question, Twitter is sending news alerts, curating content, programming live video: https://www.buzzfeed.com/... Greg Emerson / @emersongreg : It's true: @twitter is now in the “news” category of the App Store https://www.buzzfeed.com/... pic.twitter.com/OeceLz2BgM
Context & Ripple Effects
The media pivot has been building all year: Twitter put Nathan Hubbard in an interim media job back in January, then quietly switched its App Store category from Social Networking to News, where it ranked No. 1. What was framed as a visibility tweak now looks like strategy.
The timing matters because Twitter under Jack Dorsey has been fighting growth issues, high churn, and a sliding stock since his return — including a rejected $500M Medium pitch. Hiring Periscope editors, broadcasting news alerts, and airing premium live video is the answer it landed on: become the place where news happens live.
First-order effects
- Twitter is staffing an editorial operation around Periscope live video, directly competing with Facebook for premium broadcasters, news partners, and the ad dollars that follow them.
Second-order effects
- Facebook, which has been courting the same publishers and live-video talent, now faces a rival willing to build editorial staff rather than just algorithms — forcing a choice between matching the investment or ceding breaking-news territory.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the 'platform vs. publisher' distinction collapses: consumer internet companies converge on curating and commissioning content regardless of what they call themselves, with Tren Griffin already comparing the move to Yahoo's declining portal-era business.
The trend: Social platforms are abandoning the pretense of neutrality and rebuilding themselves as media companies, with live news video as the battleground.