• Integrity is our most important commodity: Avoid writing or posting anything that would embarrass The Times or compromise your ability to do your job.
• Assume that your professional life and your personal life will merge online regardless of your care in separating them.
• Even if you use privacy tools (determining who can view your page or profile, for instance), assume that everything you write, exchange or receive on a social media site is public.
• Just as political bumper stickers and lawn signs are to be avoided in the offline world, so too are partisan expressions online.
• Be aware of perceptions. If you “friend” a source or join a group on one side of a debate, do so with the other side as well. Also understand that readers may view your participation in a group as your acceptance of its views; be clear that you’re looking for story ideas or simply collecting information. Consider that you may be an observer of online content without actively participating.
Die Los Angeles Times hat ihre Social media guidelines aktualisiert. Das da oben sind die „Basic Priniciples“, die für alle „editorial employees“ gelten, die Russ Stanton und Henry Fuhrmann „on behalf of the Standards and Practices Committee“ in einem internen Memo informieren, über das im Blog der LA Times berichtet wird. In dem Anschreiben heißt es:
Your professional life and your personal life are intertwined in the online world, just as they are offline. Attempts, for instance, to distinguish your high school friends from your professional associates are fine, but in all spaces one should adhere to the principle that as an editorial employee you are responsible for maintaining The Times’ credibility.
Hier werden übrigens die Ethics Guidelines veröffentlicht.
