As annoying as it is, the reality is that followers provide independence. If a reporter has a following, they can be more independent against corporate media power. Demanding reporters “delete their Twitter” is to cede to corporations, who will never leave Twitter. A better start to this would be to encourage journalists to join Mastodon *too* to build and diversify their audience, and to get them to report on Mastodon itself to get more folks here.
Constructive things to say to journalists: join Mastodon, encourage your audience to have their conversations here, report on Mastodon, add Mastodon to your news org bio, make a video explaining how to use Mastodon, ask lawmakers if they will be joining Mastodon
Not helpful: You are a fascist just like Elon Musk for not immediately deleting your Twitter and giving up the audience you spent 15 years building. It’s all or nothing, right now.

@tony but do we want Mastodon to become the new news outlet?

I don't miss journalists on Mastodon. Don't miss the clickbait or the tendency of journalists to make stories bigger than they are.

@SebastienK Please don’t assume all journalists are the same! The giant names in news are not the same as the reporters with small to medium readership holding police accountable, digging through City Hall spreadsheets, filing FOIA requests, and the like.
@SebastienK @tony This. The big news corporations can go hang, but I want to preserve my relationships with my local beat reporters, whose use of Twitter would absolutely translate well to Mastodon.