NPR Publishes Social Media Guidelines

In light of the great increase in use of social networking, NPR has extended its Code of Ethics with a new NPR News Social Media Guidelines, published today. The NPR website states that these guidelines apply "to all NPR journalists, officers, and selected other staff."

The guidelines emphasize the idea that anything online can become public, including the following cautions:

• First and foremost - you should do nothing that could undermine your credibility with the public, damage NPR's standing as an impartial source of news, or otherwise jeopardize NPR's reputation.
• Recognize that everything you write or receive on a social media site is public. Anyone with access to the web can get access to your activity on social media sites. And regardless of how careful you are in trying to keep them separate, in your online activity, your professional life and your personal life overlap.

They put a special burden on journalists to be careful in their associations online:

You must not advocate for political or other polarizing issues online. This extends to joining online groups or using social media in any form (including your Facebook page or a personal blog) to express personal views on a political or other controversial issue that you could not write for the air or post on NPR.org.

Your simple participation in some online groups could be seen to indicate that you endorse their views. Consider whether you can accomplish your purposes by just observing a group's activity, rather than becoming a member. If you do join, be clear that you've done so to seek information or story ideas. And if you "friend" or join a group representing one side of an issue, do so for a group representing the competing viewpoint, when reasonable to do so