Newspapers urge reporters use common sense on Twitter, Facebook

In recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal joined The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, among others, in establishing guidelines for reporters on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Most top editors say they’d like to encourage reporters to use social media tools to spur discussion and interest in their publication, but caution that too much sharing (especially of a personal or controversial nature) could jeopardize a reporter’s newsgathering ability -- and the publication’s reputation. Joe Strupp, senior editor at Editor & Publisher, gives an insightful round up of the various policies crafted at these publications that seek to shape the online behavior of news reporters, on and off the clock.