Media members unload on Twitter

As one of the one of the hottest and most divisive topics in politics and journalism today, Twitter can provoke strong opinions from today’s movers and shakers.

C-SPAN’s Washington Journal compiled clips of media members opining on the microblogging service. Some interviewees were enthusiastic about tweeting but most of them thought it was detrimental to journalism.

Here are some of the top quotes:

“No standards. Everyone with a laptop thinks they’re journalists.” – Helen Thomas

“I just want to say that I agree with Maureen Dowd that I would rather be eaten alive by ants than Twitter.” – Bill Press, radio host

“The new mediums are a two edge sword…Have you really checked it? Have you called to make certain that it’s fact? People can look at it and say, ‘well that’s true, there was no Holocaust,’ ‘Lyndon Johnson organized the Kennedy assassination.'” – Sam Donaldson, ABC News

“It sounds like a nervous condition.” – Mark Shields, syndicated columnist

“I barely use e-mail.” – George Will, syndicated columnist

“I am not. I feel that if anyone wants to call me, I’m available.” – Jon Meacham, Newsweek Editor

“I’ve never thought that the world was suffering from a lack of outlets for me to express my opinions.” – Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online Editor-at-Large

See for yourself: