Company seeks input on
proposed social media guidelines
Social media has become
a huge part of our lives. All of us routinely turn to some aspect of social
media -- whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or some other platform --
for our news and information.
Our journalists use
social media as a tool to communicate with readers and sources, and to report
the news in a more timely fashion. Our publications and products use social
media to promote their brand and reach a wider audience.
But social media also
poses a serious risk, especially to those in the news business. Our mission is
to report the news objectively and to operate our news outlets as a public trust.
One poorly crafted, ill-timed, inaccurate and/or mean-spirited online comment
might not only be embarrassing to our company, but could seriously undermine
our journalistic credibility and mission of remaining neutral, fair and
unbiased.
You've seen it happen to
other companies. One embarrassing Tweet or Facebook post can within minutes
destroy a positive reputation that's taken years to build.
With this in mind, the
company has sought to develop some simple, yet sensible, guidelines on how our
employees should conduct themselves in the online universe. We feel all
employees -- not just our journalists -- have an obligation to represent our
company and its values professionally and with utmost integrity.
Below is a first draft
of those guidelines. I'm really interested in hearing your thoughts and
reactions, especially from those teams that may have already adopted their own
in-house guidelines. What's working well? What isn't working? Are there
additional items we need to address?
Please email your
thoughts and suggestions to bmckeand@newszap.com. I look forward to
hearing from you.
Bret McKeand
Senior Executive Editor
***
Independent Newsmedia
Inc. USA Social Media Guidelines DRAFT
Independent Newsmedia
Inc. USA is a company founded on promoting, protecting and preserving the
rights and values enshrined in our Constitution’s First Amendment. Our company
owns and operates newspapers and online news platforms throughout the nation,
and is the predominant source of local news in many of the communities we
serve.
Our mission also
requires we maintain our “purposeful neutrality” and refrain from injecting
personal opinions into our efforts to report the local news. It’s more important
today than ever before that readers trust and believe what they read in our
newspapers and on other news platforms. It’s vital we remain objective in our
news coverage and vigorous in our pursuit to allow all civil voices to be
heard.
The growth of social
media, however, has provided challenges to news organizations everywhere. We
recognize the value of social media not only to our journalists, but to our
employees in all departments. If used properly, social media tools can continue
to enhance our brands, promote our products and engage our audiences. We
believe it’s important to maintain a vibrant presence on social media. Many of
our employees already have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram
and other platforms, and many of our journalists have become influential voices
within their communities thanks to these platforms.
But it’s important we
engage responsibly on these platforms. A single embarrassing misstep or
disparaging remark – even by one person – can cause serious harm to our reputation
and irreparable damage to the integrity of our company. Remember, everything
you post using social media is public or could easily be made public, even if
deleted at a later date.
Privacy is never guaranteed when using social
media.
Therefore, we’ve created
the following social media guidelines in order to protect our credibility and
reputation. The guidelines reflect many of the values already stated in our newsroom guidelines and company personnel handbook.
We’ve always reinforced
to newsroom employees that it’s important they avoid posting anything on social
media that damages our – or their -- reputation for neutrality and fairness.
The following guidelines apply to all
employees, not just those in the newsroom. All employees, regardless of their
position, represent our company. A serious social media gaffe reflects poorly
on everyone; an employee’s personal comment posted on social media could easily
be mistaken by a reader as a reflection of our company values or worse, a
comment endorsed by our company.
What should employees not say on social
media?
- ·
In social media posts,
all employees – especially our journalists -- must not express partisan or
political opinions, endorse candidates, make offensive comments or do anything
else that risks jeopardizing our journalistic reputation or our ability to fulfill
our mission within the communities we serve.
- ·
Employees should never
use social media to discuss internal editorial issues such as sources, editing
processes and decisions on whether or not to publish. Any employee who has a
question or concern about a news story, should speak directly to the reporter
or a supervisor.
- ·
Employees should never
write, tweet or post anything rude, offensive or insensitive – including
photographs or video – that could be perceived as reflecting political, racial,
sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism.
- ·
Employees should not
appear to take sides on issues that the newsroom is seeking to cover
objectively.
- ·
Employees should never
use their position with the newspaper to threaten, bully or seek favors via
their social media accounts.
- ·
We strongly discourage
all employees from making customer service complaints or disparaging remarks on
social media. Even if you have a strong gripe to make, it could end up
reflecting poorly on our company. If you’re in the newsroom, your complaint may
result in you being given preferential treatment from a business. If the
complaint is directed at a business, it could hurt our sales efforts. Best
advice: Express your displeasure face to face and avoid waging your battles in
public.
- ·
It’s best to avoid
joining private and/or special-interest groups on Facebook and other online
platforms that appear to be promoting specific causes or partisan issues.
- ·
Social media may not be
used to violate any of our company policies as outlined in both our employee
handbook and newsroom guidelines, including but not limited to, our
anti-harassment, discrimination and technology policies.
- ·
Employees are not to
divulge confidential company information, both during employment and after
employment ends. Confidential information includes all non-public information
that might be of use to competitors or harmful to Independent Newsmedia Inc.
USA, its employees or its customers if disclosed.
- ·
Do not post anything in
violation of applicable laws, including those relating to copyright, trademark,
plagiarism and defamation. This includes the use of content, images and video from
social media sites other than the employee’s own. Any questions regarding legal
compliance in social media should be directed to inicorporate@newszap.com.
How should employees interact with followers?
When engaging with
followers, the first rule of thumb is simple: Be courteous.
How our employees engage
with the public – whether it be via social media, email, a phone conversation
or even face to face – impacts how people view our company, our employees and
our products. While it’s acceptable (and even desirable) for journalists to
engage in discussions with followers, all employees should assume their
comments and social media posts reflect upon our company in general.
People are following you
because they are generally interested in engaging with you. Especially in the
newsroom, readers are interested in your reporting, expertise and knowledge of
the community. Engaging with followers in a professional and courteous manner
will enhance your credibility and influence.
Some simple advice to
follow:
- ·
Always treat others with
respect.
- ·
Always keep the
conversation civil and professional. (A
good rule of thumb is to keep what you say online consistent with things you
would say in front of your children.)
- ·
If a reader questions or
criticizes your work or social media post, and you would like to respond – be
thoughtful. (Good rule of thumb: Don’t
take it personally and don’t respond quickly. Count to 10 or better yet, let
your emotions calm down before responding at all).
- ·
If criticism is nasty or
inconsiderate, it’s probably best to refrain from responding.
- ·
It’s OK to block or mute
people on social media who are threatening or abusive, but our journalists
should avoid muting or blocking people who simply criticize their reporting.
- ·
If you feel threatened
by someone on social media, immediately inform your supervisors.
- ·
If you ever receive a
threat or post targeting you, the company, your office or other entity within
the community, immediately inform your supervisors.
- ·
Be a good listener.
Don’t ignore people who are trying to engage with you in productive ways.
- ·
Foster connections by
responding to readers. Remember, many of these readers can turn out to be
potential sources, story tips and advertisers.
How should news be delivered?
In most instances, we want to publish exclusives or breaking news
on our own platforms first, not on social media or on an employee’s personal
account. Tweets or posts should always link to a developing story on our
website. Staff should be retweeting the original post so that it’s clear the
news came from our news outlet.
Some breaking news,
however, doesn’t always fit that mold. When a story breaks, it’s OK to use
social media to alert your audience. There may be other times, as well, when it
makes sense to post first on social media -- i.e. live coverage and live
updates of an event. As always, if you are unsure, journalists and employees
should always consult with their supervisors for additional guidance.
Some additional
guidance:
- ·
When reporting breaking
news, accuracy remains our top concern. Reporters and editors must evaluate and
verify all content for accuracy before posting it on social media.
- ·
Corrections: In line
with our newsroom guidelines, we pledge to readers to always be transparent and
correct mistakes promptly. If you tweeted an error or something inappropriate
and wish to delete the item, be sure to quickly acknowledge the deletion in a
subsequent post.
- ·
When reporting breaking
news or any news not first published on our own platforms, reporters must at
all times follow our newsroom guidelines. Exercise extreme caution when sharing
news tips or stories not yet confirmed by the reporter.
- ·
Check for accuracy. We
pride ourselves on being a professional and legitimate news organization.
Information – facts, quotes, attributions -- on all our news platforms and
social media outlets needs to be verified before being published.
- ·
Exercise extreme caution
when linking to other sources. Although outside sources can oftentimes add depth
and background to a story, it is important reporters avoid linking to sources
that reflect only one side of a debate. Be sure to share a variety of different
news and opinions.
- ·
Journalists are
encouraged to keep their posts fresh and post only when they have something new
and relevant. Maggie Haberman, a reporter with the New York Times, offers this
advice: “Before you post, ask yourself: Is this something that needs to be
said, is it something that needs to be said by you, and is it something that
needs to be said by you right now? If you answer no to any of the three, it’s
best not to rush ahead.”
- ·
Finally, although most
of the above suggestions are of extreme importance to those in our newsrooms,
non-newsroom employees are encouraged to refrain from sharing unconfirmed news,
gossip, etc. Remember, even if you’re not a journalist, you work for a news
organization and we are held to higher standard when it comes to sharing
accurate information.
How should reposts be handled?
Sharing links is a vital component of social media. Our
journalists should remember that readers generally follow us because they trust
us: They trust our judgment. They trust us to provide accurate and unbiased
information. They rely on our expertise to give them legitimate content.
Jennifer Peters at News
Media Alliance offers the following advice: “When
it comes to reposting, treat each post as your own. Twitter makes reposting
incredibly easy, but when you do so, it’s not always obvious to your followers
that you don’t endorse the tweet or that it didn’t originate with you. So, it’s
best to err on the side of caution. Assume that anything you share, regardless
of attribution, will be viewed as having come from your publication.”
- ·
Clearly attribute
aggregated links to their sources and clearly distinguish news from opinion.
- ·
Verify the authenticity
of people, organizations and sites that are being linked to, or referenced in
your posts.
- ·
Offer a variety of
viewpoints from others. Avoid linking to only one side of a debate.
- ·
As with all mistakes,
correct the record quickly if you mistakenly forward erroneous information.
Correct your mistake in a new tweet and/or provide a more accurate link.
Private vs. personal accounts
The guidelines outlined
here apply to all social media activity owned and operated by all of our employees.
We recognize most employees consider their Facebook accounts, Twitter feeds,
Snapchat forums, etc. to be private and separate from their roles at the
Independent. As mentioned earlier, everything we all post is public to some
degree – and everything we do in public is likely to be associated with what we
represent. Moreover, employees’ use of social media can also create legal risks
for the company, as well as damage our reputation
Nick Confessore, a
reporter with the New York Times sums it up best: “The reality is that my
Twitter account is a Times account. The Times does not control it, but the
Times is held accountable for what appears on my feed. Indeed, the casual
reader interprets my social accounts as an extension of our digital platforms,
for good and ill. I think all of us at the Times need to embrace this as the
price of our employment by a major media institution. (And in fairness, to the
extent my Twitter account is influential or widely read, it is largely because
I am employed by The Times.)”
How we developed these guidelines
Many of the suggestions
and ideas included in these Social Media Guidelines were culled from a variety
of sources, including the social media guidelines of The New York Times,
Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Western News & Info, as well as
suggestions provided by The Poynter Institute and News Media Alliance.
As with all our policies
and guidelines, we are always looking for ideas and thoughts to not only
strengthen or guidelines, but make them more useful, practical and valuable to
employees. We welcome input from employees. Please contact Senior Executive
Editor Bret McKeand at bmckeand@newszap.com.
