Crisis in Japan: A TweetChat with VOA Correspondent Steve Herman

Twitter users around the world know Voice of America’s Steve Herman from his terse and sometimes poignant tweets from Japan describing the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. National Public Radio, WABC New York, the Columbia Journalism Review and a host of international media outlets have turned to Steve for on-scene updates on the crisis.

Now you can go live with Steve (@W7VOA) as he takes questions from the audience in a TweetChat this Thursday on VOAAsia’s Twitter page. To follow the Chat or to participate, log on to Twitter and use the hashtag #VOAAsiachat1 (click here).

The live, half-hour TweetChat, starts at 10:30 AM EST (that's 11:30 PM to 12 midnight in Japan, or 1430 to 1500 UTC). You can also send questions to Steve ahead of time by email at Crossroads@voanews.com or Daybreak@voanews.com. The questions are being posted on the www.voanews.com website (click here).

VOA Director Danforth W. Austin says the TweetChat is, “yet another way for the VOA audience to directly engage a reporter with first-hand experience covering a devastating story that has touched people around the world. Steve’s reporting and his tireless updates on Twitter are keeping people informed about the scope of the crisis and the human dimension of the disaster.”

VOA Asia, the host platform for Thursday’s TweetChat, is Voice of America’s newest regional presence in social media. The Twitter page, http://twitter.com/VOAAsia, was launched earlier this month, along with a new VOA Asia Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/voa.asia.

The sites augment the VOANews.com Asia page and offer users continuous updates on top regional stories and critical issues. The sites also create an online community of users who can informally interact with each other and our reporters in the field.