Washington Post curtails staffers’ social media habit
At least one Washington Post staffer has shuttered his account on Twitter based on new guidelines from the company forbidding journalists from expressing their personal opinions online. How can journalists participate in social media without saying a word?
The issue flared up last week after Managing Editor Raju Narisetti tweeted his opinion about healthcare reform, a lightning rod issue this year in politics. He said, “We can incur all sorts of federal deficits for wars and what not,” read a recent one. “But we have to promise not to increase it by $1 for healthcare reform? Sad.”
This single tweet sparked concern over bias in the newsroom that resulted in strict new rules for Washington Post journalists and the closing of Narisetti’s Twitter account. The guidelines require that every staffer’s social media account identify him of her as a Post employee and that they represent the newsroom at all times.
These guidelines apply both to professional and personal online accounts whether they are public or not. This begs the question of where to draw the line between professionalism and personal privacy in an age where our lives are broadcast online.
Twitter is quite a public medium and most people’s accounts are visible to anyone and everyone. The site is often used to promote content and personal brands on the Internet to consumers.
In this case, staffers are the public face of the Post’s brand and have the potential to negatively impact the organization. But how do these guidelines apply to private accounts or personal Facebook profiles?
According to the Washington Post guidelines, staffers cannot offer even a hint of bias on their personal Facebook page whether public or private. In fact, the guidelines even require staffers to censor any posts reflecting bias from being posted on their profile by friends.
Every single journalist, article and news organization offers some level of bias whether the Post likes it or not. Wouldn’t it be so much more interesting to have intelligent discourse rather than clinging to the clever ruse of being unbiased?
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