I am not one to think that reporters or staffers for elected officials can’t have their own opinions or personal lives. Yet, as some of them have learned the hard way in recent months, when it comes to the use of social media, it may be difficult for readers (or “followers”) to easily differentiate between the personal and the professional, especially in the case of political reps and/or reporters that combine the two on Twitter and in other venues.
A spokesperson for San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders started a separate Twitter account a few months ago to clearly differentiate between what are her professional tweets and her personal ones.
Also several months back, the Union Trib took steps to ensure reporters using Twitter for live coverage stopped using what editors referred to as “tone,” after one of their journalists apparently went a bit too far in tweeting from a San Diego Ethics Commission hearing. (Ironically, the reporter’s tweet coverage of the proceedings was exceptional.)
That said, now that the average age of the news staff at the UT has dropped by something like 20 years, who even knows if there are any rules or guidelines for reporters, most of them probably having used social media longer than they’ve been pubescent.
So, I had to laugh when I read this entry today from @AmandaAttack (tweet name), who partly refers to herself on Twitter as “Writer, social media marketing specialist, editor, SD Union-Tribune”…
“Randomly met one of my bf’s good chick friends from hs and she told me she thinks I’m super pretty. Wow great bday present :)”
No argument here. Happy birthday, Amanda. Maybe I can be your bff (?)
Update 7:10 pm…
The UT’s Ricky Young tweets that I am incorrect and comments below to let me know that I have apparently taken Amanda’s Twitter bio out of context: “Amanda lists herself as ‘SD Union-Tribune Check It Out writer’ because she writes that feature on a freelance basis from time to time.”
Okay Ricky, thanks for the clarification. I stand corrected. I apologize for the error.
For the record, Amanda Strouse’s entire current Twitter bio, then…
“Happy workaholic! Writer, social media marketing specialist, editor, SD Union-Tribune Check It Out writer, day job = HealthyFeetStore.com, SDSU Journalism grad”
For the record further, an unquestionable reporter for the UT, no clarity needed, responded on Twitter to Amanda’s happy news about her bf’s gcf from hs referring to her as sp with the following…
“I think you’re super pretty too!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
Again, no disagreement. And, I don’t even think there’s anything necessarily wrong with a reporter mixing her links to bylined stories and her personal life on the same Twitter account.
All I’m saying is that it’s a brand new world.
Comments 13
You have taken her bio out of context. Amanda lists herself as “SD Union-Tribune Check It Out writer” because she writes that feature on a freelance basis from time to time.
To be fair, Thor, you should’ve quoted the whole bio:
“Happy workaholic! Writer, social media marketing specialist, editor, SD Union-Tribune Check It Out writer, day job = HealthyFeetStore.com, SDSU Journalism grad”
Makes a lot more sense when you know the young woman works full time for a shoe website and not the daily newspaper. Looks like she’s a freelancer who writes solely for the fluff column, “Check it Out”.
And as for the dig at age, I’ll remind you that, if you exclude all the gender-less, age-less anonymous contributors, SDRostra’s average age has also dropped 20 years. (Not naming names, but I’ve noticed a lot of articles about UCSD and hormonal boys these days on Rostra)
It was further tweeted that this post was “age-ist” and an attack on the UT. Somehow, someone has missed the humor and the satire in this. Wow, lil’ Rostra threatening the UT. No one actually believes that the average age of the UT news staff has dropped 20 years, or that most have been tweeting since before they reached puberty, do they? That is called satire.
No, not Thor… his assistant, me, Greg Larkin, or maybe one of them…and I have outed myself, as well as given it the proper byline. Still satire. Actually, some of our staff are close to pre-pubescent. The difference is that we don’t pay.
As one of the old broads who writes for Rostra and completely screws up the demo, I apologize in advance.
However, I’m also an avid user of social media. Skillz are skillz, people.
The best way to handle this new universe is to be ONE PERSON. Don’t do, say, or write anything you wouldn’t want to be read, seen or heard by your mom, a creditor, current or prospective boss in a headline on the mainstream media or in WikiLeaks.
For good or ill, professional or personally I’m one person. Sometimes this person speaks only for herself. When I speak for a client, I make it clear I am only the pipeline carrying the message, not the source. When there is complete transparency and disclosure, it should not pose a problem.
I’m amused that the original source cited for this post is the San Diego Mayor’s press aide. She may have two “different” personas on Twitter, but she freely interchanges the personal and professional on both accounts. This cross pollination is confusing. Either she forgets to change accounts or she’s so eager to comment she doesn’t take the time.Members of the news media question whether she’s tweeting as “the spokesperson” or whether she actually meant to tweet as “herself” when she does this.
Why can’t you be yourself all the time? After 30 years as a broadcaster and public relations professional, I know from experience that when you are authentic, believe in what you do and who you work with, and act without compromising your personal beliefs, it’s entirely possible. Except when you start talking about lifeguards.
If there is a Nit to be Picked, the City Beat guy will
pick it!
Perhaps the U-T is not the only place in town
which needs to develop a sense of humor.
Could there be just a little professional envy that
UCSD’s own Gabriella Hoffman now writes for
the nationally significant Washington Times?
lol
I salute Greg Larkin for the fine job he does at
SD Rostra. Don’t sweat the critics, Greg.
Thank you for the update, Greg.
Gayle –
You can call yourself an old broad, but I’d still card you if you tried to buy rounds from my ammo store.
Dave
Jim –
If there’s a tweet taken out of context, then yeah, I’ll point it out.
On the matter of Washington Times: I hate to break it to you, but writing for Washington Times’ Communities pages isn’t the same as writing for the Washington Times.
The proof is at the bottom of Hoffman’s “Being Young, Conservative & Spicy” page:
“Contributors are responsible for this content, which is not edited by The Washington Times.”
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/young-conservative-and-spicy/
In terms of national significance, it really isn’t much different than having a HuffPo account. (I’ve got one of those BTW. Not a big deal.)
Objection! Gayle Falkenthal is not, “an old broad”.
She is an elegant show-stopper, and the Dagny
Taggart of many a Libertarian’s dreams.
Regarding anonymous contributions and being yourself, I cannot speak for others who use a screen name but the reason I do it is because politics is not a part of professional life. I’m not saying politics does not affect my professional life because government decisions and actions impact every aspect of our lives. However, I have business partners and customers who are not as engaged or interested in politics as I am. I cannot afford to have them google my name and see my posts on positions with which they disagree or think that I am some sort of political yahoo. A sad statement in a way, given that this is America and we pride ourselves on being free to say what we want and support/oppose what we want. Just my two cents. Go Chargers! (See, now all the Raider fans today won’t know who I am!!)
Also several months back, the Union Trib took steps to ensure reporters using Twitter for live coverage stopped using what editors referred to as “tone,” after one of their journalists apparently went a bit too far in tweeting from a San Diego Ethics Commission hearing.
That bespeaks insecurity on part of the editors. It also makes it likely that U-T reporters will self-censor their most interesting observations.
BTW, Dave does more than nit-pick, he gives a valuable critical eye to this blog. The distinction he drew about Hoffman’s status is an significant one, no disrespect to her. Labeling something “community” or such is a way of newspapers saying it’s not important, but we feel we have to do it. The most local stuff is the lowest priority, which reveals something about the mentality of big-city newspapers.
The LA Times did this with its Times Community Newspapers, staffed by lower-ranked (and paid) journalists that the LAT didn’t consider real reporters. The “real” LA Times reporters tended to act snottily toward them — I’ve heard stories.
The Copley Press did a similar thing with its now-defunct Today’s Local News, meant to compete with my employer, the North County Times. TLN technically wasn’t a U-T publication, but a sister one, ensuring that its community journalists didn’t get a U-T byline. The North County Times benefited, by hiring some good reporters from TLN.
More recently, the Union-Tribune tried again with a new tier of entry-level reporters who a recruitment ad rather bluntly said would be trusted only with stories of “low level of complexity.” In other words, community news.
All of these efforts are handicapped by a contradiction: The editors proclaim the importance of community news, but seek this competitive edge with entry-level reporters who are told from the beginning they’re of low status. It’s a marketing strategy, not one driven by the editors’ true journalistic beliefs.
Further proof that it’s a brand new world in journalism, here are some photos of KSWB Meteorologist Chrissy Russo from her Facebook page…
http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=100000964457129#
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=150074665034681&set=a.150074661701348.30177.100000964457129
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30177&id=100000964457129#
We think she’s super pretty too, as do our bffs.
I started my alternative feed, @TheFunRachel, for two reasons. One was that SignOnSanDiego had a feed of “city tweeters,” and I had a slew of tweets about Oscars fashion that was in the feed. Out of consideration for people who were interested in a feed of city-related topics, I decided to take my weekend interests onto a different feed.
I decided the tweets in my city feed should primarily bear some relation to my job with the city — though not necessarily be buttoned-up and only speaking on behalf of the mayor. The other reason is that a few people who followed me said they were bored with my discussions of city policy but liked hearing about some of the lighter stuff.
I agree there’s overlap, and I sometimes talk about personal stuff on my (mainly) work feed, but there’s *some* method to the madness.
All that said, I recognize that no matter which Twitter persona I tweet from, it’s still me, and anything I say can and will be used against me in the court of public opinion.