More Twin Cities journalists are switching to Bluesky
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Twin Cities-based journalists are launching Bluesky accounts in big numbers.
Why it matters: For the past dozen years, Twitter — now X — was the place to go to follow local reporters who cover everything from politics to sports to arts and entertainment. That could be changing in the Twin Cities.
What's happening: Twin Cities journalists have largely avoided criticizing X in announcing their Bluesky launches, but others nationally have said the platform has become increasingly toxic.
- The nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate has documented an increase in hate speech on the platform since Elon Musk bought it in 2022.
By the numbers: The reporters adding Bluesky have big followings on X. Twins beat reporter/podcaster Aaron Gleeman (64,000 followers) launched a Bluesky account this week and said his entire team from The Athletic is now on the growing platform.
- That includes Wolves reporter Jon Krawczynski (129,000 followers), Wild writer Michael Russo (199,000), Vikings scribe Alec Lewis (36,500) and Gleeman's partner on the Twins beat, Dan Hayes (39,000).
- Other new Bluesky users: ESPN Vikings reporter Kevin Seifert (128,000) and the Star Tribune's Ben Goessling (61,000).
What they're saying: "Just need an alternative to all the ads and people trying to win X wars," Strib sports columnist La Velle E. Neal III, who has 71,000 X followers, posted.
Reality check: Most of those adding Bluesky haven't left X, or at least not yet.
- Bluesky has seen a sharp rise in users following the election, but it's still got a tiny following compared with X, which has been reported to have hundreds of millions of users (though it's declined to say how many).
Yes, but: Some are all but done with Musk's platform.
- "That's a wrap for me on Twitter," wrote Star Tribune columnist Jennifer Brooks before changing her profile setting to private.
- "Don't quite have the heart to erase 13 years and 30,000-plus solid gold tweets so I'm just locking up and turning off the lights. God, we used to have fun here, didn't we?"
What we're watching: How many users follow reporters to Bluesky.
State of play at Axios Twin Cities: Kyle is on Bluesky, Torey has an account but hasn't posted, Nick is thinking about it and Audrey is running a darn good Instagram account, so leave her out of this.