Transcript of Twinterview with @AdamSmithTimes

Thanks again to Adam Smith of the St. Pete Times for a fantastic interview this afternoon.  Here is the full transcript:

Raynor: Thank you for being with me for today’s twinterview!

Smith: Glad to join you. A real tweet

Raynor: You recently experienced your own ‘Twittergate’ moment (http://bit.ly/53luJl). Has the incident changed how you use Twitter?

Smith: Not really. Probably a good idea to be slower on the Twitter finger

Raynor: Yes, probably a good lesson for all of us. Do you use Twitter to seek out story leads?

Smith: Not so much, at least not yet. I use it more to keep informed, connected, share news updates

Raynor: @TheRickWilson wants to know how the ability of citizen journalists to fact check stories has affected your job?

Smith: I 'd say it's definitely a good thing. The more fact checkers the better. And fast online journalism means readers can point out typos or any mistake I might make before it appears in the print version      

Raynor: You and your team have built The Buzz blog (http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz) into one of the most read political blogs in FL.  How much traffic does The Buzz generate on average per week?

Smith: fluctuates, depending on the news, but we typically see more than 100,000 visitors weekly

Raynor: What online news sources and web sites do you regularly visit to get news and information?  

Smith: Tons- of different sources from the major media sites to red state to drudge to 538 and lots more

Raynor: Have online news aggregation services such as @SayfieReview and to an extent Twitter done more good or harm for newspapers?

Smith: Anything that drives traffic to our sites is probably a good thing

Raynor: @DJGroup wants to know if you think thoughtful reporting has suffered at the expense of a need for speed via blogs/Twitter?

Smith: Yes, I think probably reporting has suffered some because of the need for speed on blogs/twitter, 24/7 cable

Raynor: Will the St. Petersburg Times have a print edition in 5 years? 10 years?

Smith: I think so. If print was really dead, Times' free tabloid Tbt (geared to younger readers) wouldn't be thriving as it is

Raynor: The press coverage of the FL SEN GOP primary outside of FL has deemed @MarcoRubio a Tea Party candidate yet in-state press hasn’t really bought that label. Have national media outlets gotten this one wrong?

Smith: Yes, somewhat. His support is deeper than tea partiers. Just like Jim Greer...Wasn't tea party that ousted Greer, like a lot of nationl media suggested, but GOP establishment         

Raynor: What is the greatest mistake campaigns make when dealing with reporters/press? 

Smith: Not going first to the St Pete Times.  Seriously, hard question. But honesty (or at least the ability to fake it) goes a long way to establishing cred

Raynor: What one race in FL do you think could shock political insiders on both sides of the aisle in November?

Smith: Hmmm. IA.G. race very unpredictble on both sides. And ag commish race cld be more compet than xpected w scott maddox running

Raynor: Last question - Who do you wish had a Twitter feed but doesn't?

Smith: Stumped. I can't keep up with all the good feeds already out there