• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 20, 2022

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, put the kibosh on a core group of journalists recently, taking away their Twitter accounts. And then gave it all back. 

And then, over the weekend, he "permanently suspended" another business journalist, the Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz.

No reason was given. And then he brought her back.

Then he ran a poll to determine whether he should leave his post as chief executive officer. Twitter voters said: “Yes. Please leave.”

Whether he stays or goes is anyone’s guess.

After the poll was published, he said in a tweet that no one really wants his job. More banishments and reinstatements are likely to be coming. And perhaps more polls.

And if you are a key news-driven media marketer -- say, a 24/7 cable TV news network where your journalists and editors regularly read and post tweets -- what are you now thinking?

We know what big-time brand marketers are thinking: We're done, for the time being anyway. Musk defends Twitter as a “Town Hall” type of place.

In November, after some fringe far-right actors were  reinstated, he said Twitter will not be a hellscape.

Cable TV news networks are always looking for ways to promote and build awareness for their platforms. Twitter has been a good place to do that.

Going forward, however, if you are MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and CNN perhaps now you might wonder what reporters and editors might say or report on Twitter now -- if at all.

One less high-profile promotional and messaging outlet for your traditional TV networks and programs to get exposure?

So be it. Musk also doesn't want “free” messages and mentions from competitors' social-media platforms.

Musk has said Twitter won't be a hellscape. Maybe it will be just a purgatory-scape.

Either way, you might really want out of the scape. It can be all about the company you keep.