Social Media Ethics

SPJ Region 5 Spring Conference 2012

Mike Reilley and Amy Bartner

Amy’s Case Studies

Amy’s Case Studies

Amy’s Case Studies

Amy’s Case Studies

Amy’s Case Studies

Amy’s Case Studies

Ethical Guidelines with Twitter

Consider everything public Consider everything signed Consider many accounts to be fake

Unless you know the person or know it’s his or her account

RTs can be endorsements Storify on AP retweet guidelines

Check with your employer on policies for Tweeting Internal issues can become external Are opinions allowed?

Be Careful With Twitter

This fake BBC News account tweeted false information … and look at all of the retweets.

Think Spelling Doesn’t Matter?

ABC 7 Washington D.C.

Verifying News on Twitter

How to verify? Don’t trust anything you first read on Twitter Know the sources (sources, not source) Read the sources bio information Take pause: click on the link, if there is one. Read the

story. Are other media outlets reporting it. What attribution is there, if any? (if there is none, wait

for some) Play to your hunches: If it sounds too good to be true,

it probably is!

Misreporting: Paterno’s Death

Student alternative news site @OnwardState tweeted that Paterno had died on Saturday night, basing it on an email to players

CBS Sports website posted a news story on Paterno’s death, basing it on the OnwardState tweet but not attributing it.

Several media outlets and journalists began tweeting that Paterno died Saturday night.

OnwardState’s Tweet

Link went here.

Misreporting: Joe Paterno’s Death

CBSSports.com home page screengrab from Saturday night.

Misreporting: Joe Paterno’s Death

Paterno’s family denied the rumor; son Jay tweeted that dad was alive. @OnwardState ran a correction on its site and tweeted it quickly.

CBSSports.com added attribution to @OnwardState in its story only after the Paterno family denied rumor.

CBSSports.com managing editor wrote retraction and apology, but it took more than 90 minutes.

Later fired reporter-producer who posted the story without attribution.

Lessons Learned

Fact-check on any story, but especially on sensitive stories such as a death.

Attribute everything and use links! CBS Sports learned this!

First-hand knowledge/interview never can be replaced by social media.

Take pause before hitting the send button. Do we know it’s true?

More Lessons Learned

Huffington Post got it wrong Saturday night. How it handled the correction.

More Lessons Learned

Poynter: Craig Silverman on how getting it right is more important than getting it first.

Poynter: Jeff Sonderman on Paterno reporting gaffe.

Elana Zak’s Storify on how the events transpired.

How Journalists Use Social Media

How Journalists Use Social Media

How Journalists Use Social Media

Sources Amy Gahran

Poynter Institute, E-media Tidbits Maynard Institute

Why Journalists Shouldn’t Snicker About Twitter MuckRack.com PBS Newshour The Poynter Institute Steve Buttry

“Twitter for Journalists” Used with permission http://www.slideshare.net/stevebuttry/twitter-for-journalists-

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