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Recently, I had the opportunity to attend New York City on a business journalism trip with Dr. Stewart and several other students. While visiting various media and newspaper outlets, we had the chance to ask questions about the company's policies, hiring processes and day-to-day activities. Being the budding journalism students that we are, social media was a major topic that we were curious about. After listening to the conversations between our group and the professionals, these are several of the points I have gathered on major businesses' view of Twitter and Facebook, and how their employees should properly use these sites.
To tweet or not to tweet
The capability of Twitter to post updates and links to articles instantaneously has made it a favorite of newspaper and media companies for getting out the news quick. However, an editor at the Wall Street Journal warned our group about the perils of this site. Like any newspaper, WSJ strives to be objective in its reporting procedures. The editor explained that if the paper were to post a story to their Twitter account with any sort of commentary, it would suggest an opinion about the content and would diminish the paper's credibility as an unbiased news source. Thus, the WSJ Twitter page publishes strictly headlines that would appear in the paper or online too. Even if an opinion about a story covered by the paper or station were to be posted to a reporter's personal page, it would reflect poorly upon the newspaper. Last summer, a CNN journalist was fired for expressing via tweet personal condolences about a controversial figure that the news station had been covering. When making the decision regarding tweet-worthiness, a reporter should always avoid topics where a personal opinion could be mistaken for a professional viewpoint.
Keeping it friendly on Facebook
Facebook is another social media site that more and more businesses are using to connect with their audience. However, although Facebook offers the opportunity for professional postings and networking, it also allows business to see their employees' personal pages – which may or may not always be a good thing. At Fox Business News, the internship coordinator told our group that she always scans an applicant's Facebook page before making any sort of hiring decision. Workers at WSJ acknowledged Facebook as a great tool to start a discussion about stories. Writers should be encouraged to post stories and get discussions started much like their online article postings allow for comments. As with Twitter, however, authors themselves should never comment on their own story or express their personal opinion of the topic. In 2009, an AP reporter was reprimanded for criticizing the executive management of a newspaper publisher on Facebook. The post ran in direct contradiction of the AP's ethics policy, which states that writers "must be mindful that opinions they express may damage the AP's reputation as an unbiased source of news. They must refrain from declaring their views on contentious public issues in any public forum."
In the end, it's up to any professional's personal discretion whether or not to post something to a social media site. If unsure, one should consult their company's ethics code for proper guidelines on how to handle social media, policies regarding personal and professional use of these sites and the consequences for failing to adhere to ethical standards. Although journalists especially should be cautious given the nature of their work, all users should practice good social media etiquette for the benefit of earning respect both in current careers and for future employment prospects.
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