Friday, October 13, 2017

When Ethics Confuse, Make Some Rules

New York Times spells out what staff may and may not do on social media

Last night, in an event at George Washington University, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet talked about his frustration with the social media profiles of some of the Times’ reporters and editors:
“I’ve spent full days policing our social media,” executive editor Dean Baquet said, adding that he’s called reporters personally. Baquet said his view is that Times journalists “should not be able to say anything on social media that they cannot say” in the pages of the Times or across its various platforms…Baquet said he wants it to be clear to the public that the paper’s motivation is “journalistically sound” and not part of “a vendetta” against the president. “I can’t do that if I have 100 people working for the New York Times sending inappropriate tweets,” he said. Baquet said the Times is “going to come up with a tougher policy.”
Well, that didn’t take long: This morning the Times issued an updated set of guidelines, developed by editors Clifford Levy, Phil Corbett, and Cynthia Collins. 

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