Going beyond mainstream media: The best Twitter feeds on and from Sri Lanka

25 May, 2011 Groundviews Colombo, Diaspora, Fiction / Creative Writing, Identity, Language, Media and Communications, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Reconciliation

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Just over a year ago, in April 2010, Groundviews launched two curated Twitter lists on Sri Lanka to help those in and outside the country access news, information and critical conversations that went far beyond mainstream media’s economic and partisan shackles. One list featured some of the most compelling bloggers in Sri Lanka. The other, a list of news sources and Twitter accounts of journalists. Because they are oriented towards an international audience, the lists largely capture content published in English, though feeds like @vikalpavoices publish mostly in Sinhala.

Coupled with our own feed, the two lists are comprehensive and by the very nature of the medium, constantly updated windows into issues, processes and events mainstream media could not, or would not cover. And even when they did, the Twitter updates on these feeds added new perspectives and often, information vital to understand context. On occasion, they have also served to hold mainstream media – both domestic and international – accountable for their false and misleading reports. We have continued to update these lists over the year, and today have added a number of new accounts to each list.

For those interested in current developments in Sri Lanka, subscribing to one or ideally both will help a great deal in analysis, context and the design and implementation of strategic interventions. Commentators we have included in these two curated feeds include professional journalists, mainstream news media, renowned science and technology writers, young academics, a number of alternative web based media, leading photographers and photojournalists, election monitoring agencies, lawyers, rights activists, academics, minority voices, some of the most progressive diaspora voices, award winning authors and poets.