Update: Gina M. Chen blogged about the New York Times and Washington Post social media rules, providing thoughtful insight on both. “Newspapers are really, really afraid of readers, sources, everyone. Good grief.”
And I’m especially pleased with Jamie Kelly’s simple, brief advice on social media use by journalists: Identify yourself and don’t endanger your reputation.
No time for extensive new commentary, but I have to note that the New York Times guidelines for staff on social media are more enlightened than the Wall Street Journal’s. But isn’t it comical (and a little pathetic) to see an organization that stands for openness in the rest of the world whining about tweets from a newsroom meeting? Note to Gazette staffers: You can tweet anything I say in any staff meeting.
Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher has rounded up more newsroom policies/guidelines/rules/advice on using Twitter and other social media. The Washington Post’s don’t-embarrass-us approach recognizes that rigid rules aren’t the way to handle social media.
Patrick Thornton of BeatBlogging wrote one of the most scathing and insightful shots I’ve seen at the Wall Street Journal approach. Thornton (who linked to my first post on the topic) wrote:
The policy seems better fit for a different era and a different medium. The policy repeatedly tells employees to “consult your editor” when using social media. The Journal appears to be operating in the same top-down, slow, patriarchal manner of newspapers of old, instead of the open and nimble ethos of social media.
James Poniewozik of Time illustrates the absurdity of the WSJ rules by showing how many of them he would be in violation of (in all cases by doing things I would regard as good journalism or harmless fun).
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