The document discusses social media ethics and guidelines for journalists using social media. It provides tips for crafting a social media policy that respects copyright and draws clear lines between personal and professional use online. Journalists are advised to use social media cautiously as a research tool and to verify information from social media with independent sources using techniques like checking account context and metadata.

1. Journalism 2.0: Social media ethics Nathan T. Wright / Lava Row

2. @nathantwright

3. Today we’ll talk policy, personal vs. professional, and social media as a research tool. What else can I answer for you?

4. Social media policy: The key ingredients

9. Introduce the purpose of social media Define social media. Focus on what employees can do vs. can’t do. Identify the opportunities. Identify consequences for negative behavior. 1.

10. Respect copyrights and fair use Know current copyright and intellectual property laws. Give credit where credit is due. Understand attributions and creative commons. 2.

11. http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses Creative Commons

12. With the personal use of social networks, conflicts may arise Clear division between news pages & personal pages. Information you disclose should not do damage. Editorial staff should not indicate political allegiance. 3.

13. Social media participation as a journalist Staff may edit online encyclopedias (Wikipedia) – but be transparent when doing it. Staff may respond to negative criticism of their organization, but not remove it. 4.

14. Personal vs. professional From the BBC: “Blogs, microblogs and other personal websites which do not identify the author as a BBC employee, do not discuss the BBC and are purely personal would fall outside this guidance.” 5.

15. Personal vs. professional (continued…) From the BBC: “New and existing blogs, microblogs and other personal websites which do identify the author as a BBC employee should be discussed with your line manager to ensure that due impartiality and confidentiality is maintained.” 5.

17. Your own policy: The key ingredients

18. THE BRAND OF YOU (photo via adampniak / flickr.com)

20. Have you Googled yourself lately?

21. 1.26 billion search engine queries every day, globally. - Piper Jaffray & Co. Google has 72% of all U.S. searches. - Hitwise, October 2008 “ Your reputation is shaped by ten blue links on a white background.” - Andy Beal

24. Julio Ojeda-Zapata @jojeda on twitter http://jojeda.posterous.com

25. What not to do:

26. Social media as a research tool

27. Majority of journalists now depend on social media for story research 89% use blogs. 65% use social networking sites. 52% use micro-blogging sites. 61% use Wikipedia. 84% said social media sources were less reliable than traditional media. CISION, January 2010 - http://us.cision.com/journalist_survey_2009

29. 2010 Associated Press Stylebook The new Social Media Guidelines section includes information and policies on using tools like Facebook and Twitter, how journalists can apply them to their work and how to verify sources found through them. Also included are 42 separate entries on such terms as app, blogs, click-throughs, friend and unfriend, metadata, RSS, search engine optimization, smart phone, trending, widget and wiki.

34. Matthew’s “Line of Verification” The Light Side The Dark Side Concept via @mattsays, BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/blog/2011/01/the-line-of-validation-new-app.shtml Confirmed stuff that the news org has defined as “true” Unconfirmed stuff that the news org can’t verify by two independent sources (non-reportable)

35. " We need to change our reporting activity to engage with 'stuff' on the dark side of the line as part and parcel of our daily journalism . Social media unleashes the capacity of people to publish and share rumour, lies, facts and factoids. We - as a trusted broadcaster (along with other journalists of course) - become increasingly significant as a reference or clearing house, filtering fact from fiction.“ - Charlie Beckett, Director @ media think-tank POLIS

36. Search Twitter for keywords and hashtags

42. http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2011/01/26/verifying-information-online-content-context-code/

43. Real – or hoax?

44. BP’s mad Photoshop skillz

45. How do you spot a fake? ErrorLevelAnalysis.com

50. [email_address] @nathantwright 515.554.0502 www.lavarow.com Thank you.