Note: We've asked NPR journalists to share their top five (or so) political Twitter accounts, and we're featuring the series on #FollowFriday. Here are recommendations from Elise Hu (@elisewho), an NPR digital reporter who previously covered campaigns and statehouses in Texas, South Carolina and Missouri.
An unabashed Twit-vangelist, I started using Twitter during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election to stay up-to-date on news, but, more important, to be part of community conversations that consistently guide me, amuse me and alert me to everything from Siri to Syria. (Find out how long you've been tweeting with this handy service.)
If you're a political junkie and a Twitter vet, you're probably already following the fan favorites (read: BuzzFeed's Ben Smith (@buzzfeedben), The New York Times' Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight). But just in case you're missing an obvious follow, CBS political director and longtime Slate correspondent John Dickerson (@jdickerson) is my favorite among political journos on Twitter. Someone once called him the Lao Tzu of the form.
Also, our friends across the pond at The Guardian this week put together a handy list of their top 50 tweeters on the U.S presidential race, broken down by pollsters, pundits, parties, feeds and journalists. So this list below is an attempt to highlight some of the lesser-known, topical or local political tweeters you might enjoy:
This year the economy is obviously the marquee election issue, so in addition to political sources I've been following a lot of great economics reporters and sources. There's my pal Sudeep Reddy (@reddy), a global economics reporter for The Wall Street Journal whose feed will be helpful as he follows the continuing crisis in the eurozone; the edgy Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias) at Slate; and of course, the team at Planet Money (@planetmoney).
Speaking of money, go beyond incremental trail coverage with Dave Levinthal, (@davelevinthal), an ace campaign finance reporter at Politico. He provides both breaking headlines and plenty of context on all the cash flowing into campaign coffers this year.
Now, to a handful (but woefully incomplete list) of local accounts. Depending on your geographic areas of interest, there is Virginia political blogger Vivian Paige (@vpaige), Miami Herald political writer Marc Caputo (@marcacaputo), the investigative outfit California Watch (@californiawatch), Texas conservative Melissa Clouthier (@melissatweets), The Dallas Morning News' Wayne Slater (@wayneslater), and New York city hall and Albany coverage from the New York Daily News (@DNDailyPolitics).
Finally, for biting political commentary that will crack you up, follow comedian Andy Borowitz (@BorowitzReport) and add a little levity to your feed. And please tweet me — @elisewho — with recommendations we've missed over the last few weeks so we can keep this conversation going on Twitter. See you in cyberspace.
Follow our recommendations so far, and get future picks, here: https://twitter.com/#!/nprpolitics/the-npr-twitterati
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