This week, a group of journalists endeavoured to make a “news” experiment. They isolated themselves from the world’s traditional media (no radio, no television, no newspapers) and “produced” news having as unique sources of information “haiku” texts on Facebook and Twitter. To complicate things, they were not allowed to click on the links proposed in the feeds. They called the experiment “Huis clos sur le Net” and the results are online.

The journalists followed the nowadays trend on getting the news. Not searching, but getting. Searching is too old-fashioned. Nowadays the mountain comes to Mahomet, via Facebook and Twitter. The same way the EP news came to you this week.

Haiku goes global ©nobuojp

Monday: you find out on Facebook that the Bulgarian commissioner-designate will be evaluated by the Parliament. If approved, she will be in charge with development and she will be expected to take action on Haiti. If you have time to check the fan’s comments you read that she is an economist and was vice-president of the World Bank and that people trust her. Later in the afternoon you read that last year’s Sakharov prize laureate, Oleg Orlov, leader of Memorial, was arrested in Russia, and that the EP’s president called on the Russian authorities to “cease the heavy-handed treatment of peaceful demonstrators”. The fans comments inform you that Mr Orlov is the second Sakharov laureate to be jailed, after Lyudmila Alexeyeva was arrested on New Year’s Eve . On Twitter you read that the Balkans are “still suffering” from Yugoslav wars, and if you follow the link you will be able to read an interview on this subject with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Tuesday: you probably already knew that the European Parliament regularly examines the candidate states’ readiness for EU membership. But you can find out the citizens’ views on enlargement in the 200+ fan comments. The day’s bad news: we may have to raise taxes in the next years. If you don’t click on the link you don’t find out that the MEPs asked for the pensions’ reform. On Twitter you read that bankers have lost their friends in Davos and that MEPs ask support for small firms while tackling the crisis. If you are a fan of the EP president on Facebook, you find out that he paid his first official visit to a founding EU Member State – France.

In late afternoon you cannot believe you eyes: the Parliament’s communication team published on the EP official website the comments on enlargement from their Facebook fans.

Wednesday: you are informed on Facebook that the hearing of the Bulgarian commissioner-designate is broadcast live. Unfortunately not on Facebook, but on the EP website. So, follow the link!

Thursday: first news on Facebook: Parliament members look at how cooperation in organ donation could help to overcome shortages. In late afternoon you cannot believe you eyes: the Parliament’s communication team published on the EP official website the comments on enlargement from their Facebook fans. On Twitter you read that the commissioners’ hearings are over, and you can see the atmosphere caught by our photographer in a photo gallery on Flickr.

Friday: On Twitter you find a link to the verbatim reports of the commissioners’ hearings and another one to the parliamentary committees’ evaluations of the candidates. On Facebook you read that during the following week MEPs meet in plenary in Strasbourg. The video proposed in the link shows you the main points on the MEPs agenda, among which the controversial transfer of European banking data to the American authorities.

Did you miss any information by not reading the official news? Find out yourself on the EP “Headlines”!