You Can’t Post That! Social Media Policies in U.S. Television Newsrooms

The use of social media by journalists raises new ethical and professional dilemmas. As a result, news outlets are implementing policies addressing what is and what is not permitted on social media platforms. Through a nationwide survey of local television (TV) news directors, this study examines the prevalence of social media policies in TV newsrooms, the source of those policies, and the application in newsrooms. This study provides a framework for newsroom policies and further empirical investigation. The authors identify and explore five areas to be used as guidelines in formulating newsroom social media policies: personal and professional social media activity of reporters, social media sourcing and content, audience complaints on social media, the use of social media while reporting in the field, and ownership of social media accounts. The authors investigate how the policies address emerging issues in each of those five areas and provide policy recommendations.