WASHINGTON DC – Suggested guidelines for journalists who use social media and blogs as news sources, or to supplement their reporting, were released last week (Feb. 4, 2010) by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The lengthy set of best ethical practices for reporters’ reliance on items like Twitter “tweets” or Facebook “wall posts” are now available online.
The Sanatoga Post, The Limerick Post, and The Pottstown Post all have, on occasion, used Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites as source material for some of their reports. The most recent example is a story all three published Saturday (Feb. 6, 2010), titled “Tweeting Up The Area’s Snowy Weather,” that cited Tweets about weather conditions in Pottstown and surrounding areas.
“We haven’t yet thoroughly read the guidelines, and don’t know what parts, if any, are applicable to The Posts’ reporting,” Managing Editor Joe Zlomek said Sunday (Feb. 7). “But the mere fact that guidelines have been offered by a news group for its members’ consideration is worthy of public attention.”
The Posts are not RTDNA members. Zlomek, however, is a 27-year member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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