A Handle that's Credible?

After four years of college studying communication (Public Relations, Sports Journalism) I find myself asking a lot of questions when I read a newspaper article or watch the news.  I ask myself what makes this story true, credible, newsworthy.  None of these questions do I think are special to just me.  Realistically I think all consumers of the news (which should be everyone) should be asking these questions to keep a checks-and-balance system on our media, who in turn keep a checks-and-balance on the government, corporations, celebrities, and even simple small town affairs. One news source who I rarely question, as they leave no questions to ask, is The New York Times.

However, a new question arose in their January 14, 2010 article Did Your Horoscope Predict This? on Horoscopes and the changing of Zodiac signs...  which is a fun topic in itself.

My questions arose because of the sources for some of their quotes.  The article quotes some Twitter users.  

“My zodiac sign changed,” wrote one upset Twitter user on Friday morning. “Does that mean that I’m not anymore who I used to be?!?”

 “First we were told that Pluto is not a planet, now there’s a new zodiac sign, Ophiuchus,” read one tweet from someone with the handle HarryPotterish. “My childhood was a bloody lie.”

These quotes made the article more entertaining.  I laughed when I read them... but I also did a big rewind and re-read when I read the first reference to a Twitter account.  I use Twitter regularly.   But for those that actually know me outside of the World Wide Web know I like to joke around and can be sarcastic at times.  Judging by HarryPotterish's tweet, I'm guessing he does too.  But really, I would say the same for our upset Twitter user.  That tweet is something I might have said in a joking manner.  So can The New York Times accurately label and quote this unnamed Twitter user as "upset?"  Is Twitter a reliable source even if it's just for entertainment and extra content in a story?

I like Twitter, I like The New York Times, but do I like The New York Times quoting Twitter users that I don't know if they actually talked to? .... Right now, I don't think so.