TV Peeps with the Most Tweeps — Seattle

Published by Steve Campion. Category: Arts, Culture & Media

Television news is a medium that goes in one direction: from reporter to viewer. Social media lets viewers interact and report news back to the station. Some local TV personalities have realized that a social media following gives them an advantage. It’s not just a fan-base; it’s thousands of extra eyes witnessing changing weather, traffic snarls, local sports, or a rumpled sleeve on a bad wardrobe day. Nowhere is instant feedback easier than Twitter.

Who has the most Twitter followers in the Seattle TV market? Even before beginning my search, I suspected who would emerge as the leader. Jenni Hogan, the UW grad from Australia and current traffic reporter at KIRO, has been showing social media savvy since she opened a Twitter account several years ago. She and her followers communicate on Twitter, Facebook, and her blog — sometimes squeezed into the 9 minutes between her on-air reports. And off-air they have a steady, on-going conversation.

We will eventually cover the central Washington and Spokane TV markets, but for now only the Seattle TV peeps with the most tweeps are listed below (with numbers accurate as of June 21, 2011). Do you follow any of them? Whose tweets do you enjoy most?

TV NEWS PERSONALITIES WITH THE MOST TWITTER FOLLOWERS (Seattle Market)

Rank	TV Person	Station	Focus	Twitter Name	Twitter Followers
1.	Jenni Hogan	KIRO-7	Traffic	@jennihogan	31,672
2.	Lily Jang	KCPQ-13	Anchor	@LilyJang	15,573
3.	Bill Wixey	KCPQ-13	Anchor	@BillWixey	8,109
4.	Julia Francavilla	KIRO-7	Anchor	@KIRO7Julie	6,173
5.	Rebecca Stevenson	KIRO-7	Weather	UPDATED: @Rebecca_Weather previous: @StevensonRebeca	3,362
6.	Chris Egan	KING-5	Sports	@ChrisEgan5	3,346
7.	Kaci Aitchison	KCPQ-13	Reporter	@KaciAitchison	3,193
8.	Steve Pool	KOMO-4	Weather	@StevePoolKOMO	3,122
9.	Tracy Taylor	KING-5	Traffic	@King5TracyT	2,808
10.	Chris Egert	KIRO-7	Anchor	@ChrisEgert	2,359