With Twitter emerging as great source for rapid and concise news, many of the nation’s journalists have taken to the social networking site and now use it both an outlet aswell as a source for information.

With the likes of the BBC, CNN and Sky News all taking to the social networking site, reporting a story in 140 characters has suddenly become an essential skill for journalists of our generation.

In an article about reporting the Stephen Lawrence case on Twitter, BBC journalist Philippa Thomas explained that in her experience, a smart-phone could be considered as essential as a pen and notepad in modern day court reporting.

Reporting through the social networking site allows journalists to interact directly with their audience and get an instant reaction to decisions made in court such as verdicts for example. Without the ‘Court TV’ style reporting of the USA could Twitter be the closest the British public can get to live court reporting?

Read Phillipa Thomas’ article on Reporting a trial on twitter here