Social Media: Complicating or Simplifying Journalism/Society?

By Natalie Knoth
nk362406@ohio.edu

Journalists use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to post breaking news stories, as well as to interact with friends and family. But where is the line drawn between personal and professional? Should journalists expunge any evidence of political affiliations from their Facebook profiles? What about interacting with sources on Facebook? In an industry that endorses transparency, does it follow that journalists need not worry about their image on their personal websites?

Particularly for those journalists with open profiles on Facebook and Twitter, any and all information listed can be evidence of a bias in reporting. For example, a reporter "likes" a particular politician running in an election and writes stories about said election. The question is not whether a journalist who favors a politician should be allowed to write a story about the election, because we all have biases. But by revealing any political leanings on a social media site, journalists are opening themselves to attacks on their credibility.

Social media sites have been the subject of much controversy outside the journalism world as well. According to an article on TIME magazine’s website, even “friends only” posts might be used against parties in court. The article cited the McMillen v. Hummingbird Speedway case in which, according to an attorney cited in the article, “the court ordered the disclosure of the Facebook password of one of the parties so that access could be gained by the other side to the revelant Facebook account." But in a different case, Piccolo v. Paterson, the court struck down a request to sift through Facebook posts for information relevant to the case.

While some users may find it troubling that supposedly private updates could be revealed to the public, the fact remains that Facebook, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Myspace, are all social networking sites. As such, the user must be aware that information isn’t all that private – even if it is purportedly private under Facebook classifications. Journalists must be particularly aware of their actions on social media sites, as they are representing a news organization – even if they do not mean to be, as is the case when journalists are interacting on their personal pages.

Perhaps the safest bet is not to post anything sensitive, crude, demeaning, offensive, or unsightly. But where does the First Amendment come into play? And shouldn't journalists be afforded the same liberty to voice their opinions as any other people, particularly when their profession is based on freedom of speech? Clearly, social media raises many questions about the media industry – questions that will likely remain unresolved for quite a while.