To Add on Social Media or Not? A Dilemma for all Journalists

Bez Saciri
bs143110@ohio.edu

With social media now a major part of a reporter's work day, one question must be asked: Can you add a source as a friend on Facebook or follow them on Twitter and Instagram?

The sources journalists talk to can potentially be active on social media. There's a strong chance that you could possibly interact with a particular source for many other stories down the line. Even though you constantly talk to them, is it right to add them on social media?

In my time at Ohio University, I have seen many journalists follow different athletes, leaders of organizations and organizations themselves on Twitter.

My ultimate goal in life is to be a sports writer for a major news outlet. At OU, I write about some of the sports teams to try to build my resume while I can. I have become friends with some of the students who are also looking to be sports writers, and I have seen them interact with some of the athletes from various sports on Facebook and Twitter. For that to happen, the athletes have had to potentially accept requests to talk to them. The interaction is not huge, but it's out there.

My experience 

During my time at OU, I have also added athletes on Facebook and Twitter. Some of them have accepted my requests and others have not. I even follow the women's soccer coach on Twitter and he is also my Facebook friend. I can easily connect with him on both websites if I absolutely need something. At the end of last school year, I had to do a project for a class that looked at the differences in media coverage between "money" sports and "smaller" sports. I interviewed four women's soccer players and one field hockey player.

I have the phone numbers of all of those athletes. I'm not sure if it's right, but in the middle of the most recent soccer season, one of the players suffered a pretty serious injury during one of the games I was covering. I happened to interview this player for my project last year. After the game, I sent my condolences to her via text message. It's horrible to see someone you've gotten to know get injured during a game. In the end, I was happy I could be there for someone.

Twitter. Photo from dailygenius.com.

Other examples 

Julia Angwin, who is a journalist and an author, was in the process of deleting all of her Facebook friends on February 2013. She thinks Facebook cannot provide her with a level of privacy she commands. She wants to protect all of the sources that she uses. She also doesn't want to be shocked when she finds information about herself that she cannot control. With the way Facebook has changed over the years, she is writing a book about online privacy.

One AP reporter's official reprimand over an innocuous  comment on his Facebook page sparked the ire of union officials on June 2009. They demanded the AP clarify its ethics guidelines and are also urging reporters to watch who they add as friends on Facebook. Richard Richtmyer had typed something on Facebook that he shouldn't have typed, and the 51 AP colleagues who he added on Facebook saw what he posted.

The final word 

I think it's OK to add sources you know on social media as long as you are careful. Your job could be on the line if you're not careful about how you use social media. Here's a video to close things out:

What's Public, What's Private and What's Ethical

Alexa Smith

as526112@ohio.edu

Truly children of the digital age, my generation is more social via media than any other medium. Face-to-face conversation has depreciated because we now have this ability to communicate by email, text message, Twitter, FaceTime and whatever other digital forms. We must accept that technology is a phenomenon that isn't going to simmer out, but will continue to get more and more advanced with time. Media has become a part of daily life for most people with a computer or a smart phone. And for those who don't, it's become nearly impossible to even watch a television show without being encouraged to visit Facebook or Twitter. Even businesses must obtain a social media account in order to advertise to as many consumers as possible. This is where a problem emerges: the separation between personal and professional. It's hard enough to keep up with one account, let alone two. But if the pictures taken from last weekend's Halloween party are seen by a perspective employer, I'm sure they will not find your ability to keg stand as a valuable asset. What internet users must realize is that anything and everything that is put on social media, is public, and everyone can see it.

                                                   Photo via PennSID                                        

Spreading the Word

It's in any business's best interest to spread the word about their product to as many people as possible. With over a billion internet users, odds are the internet is their best medium for advertising. With over 230 million active users generating over 500 million tweets each day, Twitter functions to  

"spread its users’ messages far and wide, regardless of the ethical questions the functionality presents." “Twitter wants people to embed. They’ve made it very easy and they’ve encouraged it,” Hilton says in "Is All in Twitter Fair Game for Journalists?" The thing about Twitter though, is the ease in which anyone can publish their every thought with such immediacy. If you're thinking about something, why not share it, and while you're sharing it, why not share it with everyone? I'll tell you why not: it's annoying and I don't care!

Public/ Private Split

Here poses the question of what you should share. On a professional basis, it may not be wise to share your political opinions or thoughts about controversial issues such as race, homosexuality, feminism, etc. However, on your own personal account, do what you want, but be mindful of the possible consequences. On a personal account, you have no connection or affiliation with your place of business (unless you list your employer on your profile), so they are not technically able to reprimand you for your internet presence. But, many people tend to let their true personality show on social networks, sometimes displaying less than attractive features that may not be very appealing for companies looking to employ you. 

Professional or Lax

As stated in the "To Friend or Not to Friend" article, it is okay to have an internet relationship with those you work with... but within reason. When I say within reason, I mean do not "poke" your higher-ups, do not post cute cat videos on their walls, and it may not be the smartest decision to Facebook friend your boss, especially if you plan to kill time on the clock and check your page every once in a while. But, if something pertains to work, certainly feel free to share via social medias. You are totally allowed to be pals with your coworkers. 

Social networks make communication easy and efficient. If you see that the photographer you are currently working with is on Facebook chat, and you have a question for him, go ahead and message him. You'll likely get a timely response, especially because most people carry a computer in their pocket these days.

Brand-Building vs. Social Networking

Social networks are called such for a reason: it is a medium for social interaction. You have your friends, your family, your schoolmates, your coworkers and that that kid from your Spanish class all in one place. Social interaction comes in the form of "likes," "comments," and "messages" all based on the way you advertise your brand: you. It becomes difficult to reduce yourself to words and pictures in a profile, rather than truly feeling someone's presence and sensing their vibes. This is what I present to the digital world with my Facebook profile:

      Photo via Facebook

Though I am not married to Ryan Doran (I just can't bring myself to divorce by Facebook husband from sophomore year in high school), this profile accurately depicts Alexa Smith, as much as it can.

Personally, I keep my Facebook simple, entertaining and classy, just like me. For those who enjoy ranting or exposing themselves in need of a confidence boost...whatever floats your boat. But know your profile is a first impression, so make it a good one.

Treading a Fine Line

Alessa Rosa
ar224811@ohio.edu

Image taken from Google

In this digital age, belonging to a social network has become an integral part of people’s lives. Interestingly enough, social media has crossed the line to the professional world as well. This development has forced journalists into deciding what roles social media can and should play in their job. One way that social media has changed the landscape of journalism is by providing a immensely larger pool of sources for stories and materials. Another way is by confusing the way that journalists and sources should interact.

SOURCING

When big events take place, journalists can search Twitter and Facebook for raw footage or comments to use in order to quickly report on events not occurring nearby. Although useful in getting information out fast, crowdsourcing on social media can provide unreliable sources and possible wrong information. There have been numerous cases where live tweeting has caused the situations to escalate and spread falsehoods. One example took place at the Tucson shootings in 2011, when news spread that Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was dead. She was later confirmed to be alive.

Beating other news outlets to big stories has always been important in journalism, but social media has taken too far. I think that because it is our job to report the truth, it is vital that we take the steps necessary to confirm facts before we share them with the public, even if it takes a little longer. Especially, because even if you retract or correct something you posted, there is a chance that those who saw it will not see the correction and will go on believing what you had previously posted. Moreover, if your wrong information spreads to other outlets, then the information will look to be authentic since other people are also reporting that wrong fact.

Also, when using social media as sources journalists should get permission to share perceived private information. Sure, getting by privacy settings is easy to do. But the ethical thing to do, is to be considerate of people’s right to privacy. Asking or informing a source that you are using something they posted or shared, is the right thing to do.

In the end, journalists need to do the job that they always have done, even with the changing digital era. Do the research necessary to report correct information to the public and verify sources.

SOCIALIZING

So what to do when your sources start to request you as a friend on Facebook or start following you on Twitter? Well some people will make separate personal and professional accounts. Others choose to not friend sources or keep their account private. I feel that having sources as friends or followers on social media is acceptable if you have separate accounts or are willing to censor your account and how you relate with sources. It is important to maintain your profile appropriate because most information is vulnerable to being spread to more people than you wish. Thus, taking precautious steps and making sure you do not post anything you do not want to be associated with, or that could threaten your job or credibility is the smart thing to do. Also know your audience and stay away from controversial or political topics. This way you can engage your followers and share information that pertains to you and your interests without causing troubles and bringing unwanted criticisms.

There is no way to escape social media these days, but there are ways to better use it as a resource and to manage accounts. So far, there are no set guidelines, however, journalists should use common sense and common courtesy when involving social media in their profession.

The Pros and Cons of Personal and Professional Social Media

Hayley Ross
hr332511@ohio.edu

One of the biggest questions journalists face in this age of digital media is how to balance their personal and professional lives on social media. When is it ok to accept a friend request on Facebook? How many twitter accounts is it appropriate to have? And how much personal information is ok to share online?

One of the hottest topics right now is the debate between whether or not professionals must have multiple twitter accounts. Some argue that sharing personal information and professional information on the same account increases trust between professionals and their followers, while others believe that it is important to completely separate our personal lives from our professional ones. Below are some of the pros and cons to each approach.

One Account: The Pros

As a journalist, providing some amounts of personal information along with professional information increases the audience's trust and can help that journalist develop their own personal brand. They will be able to gain more followers if those followers are interested in the journalist as a person as well as the organization that they work for. In the article "How Journalists Balance Work, Personal Lives on Twitter" on PBS website, one writer argues that having one single account helps to "maximize the benefits communities like Twitter." Mixing personal and professional information helps to create more meaningful relationships with followers.

One Account: The Cons

Some journalists argue that mixing personal and professional information on one twitter account can get confusing or annoying for followers. Too much information about a journalists personal life can turn viewers away especially if the information is inappropriate. As a journalist with only one account for personal and professional matters it is extremely important to be cautious of what is being posted. If there is even the smallest doubt about whether or not to post a tweet, it's best not to post it. U.S. News posted an article titled "The Fine Art to Juggling Personal and Professional Twitter Accounts" that provides a list of what not to post on a combined twitter account. The list includes complaints about the organization, information that isn't public yet as well as complaints about competitors. Again, if it might cause trouble, don't post it.

Two Accounts: The Pros

Having a professional account may be the safer approach because there is no possibility of something inappropriate getting posted on the account. Using a professional account helps to develop the organizations reputation without confusing followers with any of the journalists personal information. The Case Foundation put together a YouTube video (see below) titled "Using personal vs. professional Twitter accounts" that encourages professionals to use a separate organizational twitter account to separate personal information from information that the organization releases.



Two Accounts: The Cons

Keeping track of multiple accounts can get confusing at times. It is tedious to repeat posts on both accounts and followers of both accounts may find it annoying to see the same thing posted twice. It is also difficult to get the most followers possible for each account. Followers may be unaware that the journalist has multiple accounts and only follow one. Keeping multiple accounts also takes more time to manage than only having one account.

There are pros and cons to both approaches and in the end it comes down to what is the best solution for that specific journalist and the organization they are working for. Some organizations may prefer that journalists have two accounts, while others may not mind if the personal information and the professional information intermix. Perhaps in the future one approach will become more popular, but as for now the topic is still up for debate.

A Professional Social Media Presence Doesn't Mean it Can't Be Fun

Sean Neidig
sn033012@ohio.edu

I love Twitter.  I tweet all the time.  For me, Twitter is a fun and easy way to stay up to date on news, what my friends are doing and as a way to share what I'm thinking.  When I tweet, I usually look for a funny way to talk about how I'm feeling or what I'm seeing.  I'm a sports reporter, so the subject of most of my tweets are a game I'm watching or a sports topic, so I suppose I have a little more leeway to make jokes than someone who wants to focus on hard news.  People always talk about building your "brand" as a reporter, and I'm someone who likes to have a little fun so I reflect that online.

Of course, I use Twitter as a way to promote what stories I write or any packages I produce, but I don't agree with the idea that journalists have to have a personal Twitter account and a separate professional one.  I don't swear on Twitter, I don't post inappropriate pictures and I don't use it irresponsibly.  I use Twitter as an extension of my personality and I think that that is a valuable way to use it.  Twitter can be so boring when people only tweet links or game updates, and Twitter can be a very useful tool for growing an audience.

Picture from Media Bistro

For example, J.A. Adande is a reporter for ESPN Los Angeles who covers basketball, but he uses his Twitter for more than just tweeting about a game or for sharing links.  Ben Jones is another example of someone who covers a beat but also puts a lot of his personal opinions about his favorite sports team on his account. These are successful journalists who both have found ways to establish a following in their own fields while not focusing their profiles solely on their beats.  Even Wes Lowery, someone who covers more hard news and not sports integrates his personal life into his Twitter and that in addition to the actual journalism work he's done has helped him establish the huge following he has.

I think this is something that young journalists should definitely know how to do, because it makes reporters more relate-able and helps to build a larger reach.  I think one problem I see with how reporters and certain news organizations is that they seem almost robotic in how they present themselves online and personally that makes me want to find somewhere else to get my information.  There are so many outlets that provide content and news that it's very easy to find the same stuff in multiple locations and I tend to go to sites or follow reporters that have a more entertaining social media presence because that's more appealing to me than someone who only posts links to their stories.

I think too many college journalists are taught that they have to be totally professional online or are told that Twitter can prevent you from getting a job without hearing the other side of that.  While Twitter and other forms of social media can hurt a career, I think it is also important to remember that it can have a very positive impact on a career as well, and that it's possible to still be yourself online.

The Onion Forces Fact Checking by Journalists

Justin McCauley
jm257310@ohio.edu

Technology is becoming more advanced everyday, along with technology also social media is becoming more and more relevant to journalists as another tool in their belt. Not only can journalist use social media to promote their own stories and connect with fans better, but they can learn of breaking news as it is happening and discover stories through it. Well as much as that is a good tool for journalists it is also brings to attention how important  fact-checking is. Journalists have to be more diligent then ever nowadays with websites like The Onion, The Borowitz Report, and several other sites. These sites take pride in reporting fake news that is humorous and different then the "boring" typical news story. They take even more pride in what they do when a journalist or a reporter picks up the story and reports it.

It has become so easy for people to report fake things on Twitter, and other social media sites that the model of you have to report it first is slowly going out the window. The moment you try to quickly report a story that turns out to be not 100% true you instantly take a shot in the credibility column. Creditability is one of the most important things for a journalist to have, if the public doesn't trust you and believe what you are reporting on then why are you doing your job. On twitter you always see stories and tweets of celebrities "dying" and most of these turn out to be fake and the other day I saw an article about how The Onion has fooled reporters some many time that their is a top ten list. I think that journalists today have todo there due diligence and not only report on stories quickly but correctly. The first story isn't always as important as the first correct story out there. If your are the third person post and article on a story but they only one that goes in depth and double checked the facts and talked to people your story will be more popular then the first two because there not as in depth and might not be 100% correct.

A lot of this is unchartered territory for journalist. Many of them have been taught the old school way and even the early ways of how to handle all the different social media sites have drastically changed over the last few years. It will always continue to change as the technology changes and how the field of journalism decided how it will adjust to it along the way.So as the years continue to go by there will always be people out there trying to sneak one by the journalists with fact quotes or a fake story. So I think that when it comes to the social networks sites you have to trust no one and only trust yourself because if you don't that is how you get burned and you don't want to end on shows like the Daily Show or the butt of a comedians joke.

Just Because It's on Twitter, Doesn't Mean It's True

Makenzie Piatt

mp689012@ohio.edu

Because of social media, news is beginning to be driven by click views rather than by content. The race to produce the story first seems more important than whether or not the facts are correct. Publish first then correct if necessary seems to be the order of the day. According to a social media study conducted by ING, they proved the different ways social media has revolutionized the media landscape in PR and journalism. One third of journalists say social media posts are not a reliable source of information even though most journalists’ main source of information comes from social media. So how do we as journalists determine the true and newsworthy facts on social media? RTDNA created a social media and blogging guideline for journalists that should be followed when covering important news stories and how to keep a professional profile on social media. RTDNA created three main ethical guidelines that should be followed by journalists when using social media.

Truth and Fairness:

Information posted online needs to be confirmed and verified just as a regular news story would. Sources need to be determined and facts need to be checked. In an article on CNN written by Pete Cashmore, he wrote about the many times news outlets fought to be first to distribute a story, yet did not check their facts before publishing. One of the most memorable mistakes was when stories spread on twitter about the death of Joe Paterno, while he was still alive. Social media can spread stories like wildfire, whether they are true or false. It is a journalist’s job to always pay attention to the stories being told and to make sure they are true.

Accountability and Transparency:

In a video by Fox Business on understanding the power of social media, Chris Dessi said, “There is no barrier to entry. I can talk about whatever I want, no filter.” While this is true, journalists need to be aware of the consequences of their actions, and know they hold accountability for whatever is published on their profile. Many people under the public eye have received scrutiny for sharing their biased opinions on twitter, and saying a little more than they should have. In an article written by the Business Insider, they created a list of 13 people with different occupations who were fired because of what they posted on twitter. While it is important for journalists to hold accountability and show no biased toward stories, everyone with a career should learn to be transparent and have professional social media profiles.

Image and Reputation:
Creating controversy on social media is not only unprofessional, but can also damage a person’s image and reputation. Journalists need to have the reputation of being trustworthy individuals because the public looks to journalists and news outlets for reliable stories with guaranteed factual information. Any journalist who makes a mistake of publishing a false story risks permanently damaging their image. It is important to remember that whatever is posted on the Internet is open to the public eye, and one biased tweet has the potential to ruin a reputation and career.