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.

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Knight Foundation Co-Sponsors 'Twitter' Awards

KF + Sawhorse honor 26 leading Twitterers. For more:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003941037

Note to self: Story has 142 characters, including URL. Need to rewrite!

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Lose 10 Pounds...and Blog

Hoping to start wrapping your arms around the digital revolution sweeping journalism in 2008, but have no idea how to do it? Online journalism guru and blogger Howard Owens offers a practical list with his recent blog post on "2008 objectives for today's non-wired journalist." His second most popular post this past year, Owens breaks down the daunting task for going digital in nearly a dozen steps. These include mandates like, "Become a blogger," "Start using RSS," and "Learn to Twitter." You can view the full list here, and perhaps make it a checklist for yourself: http://www.howardowens.com/2007/2008-objectives-for-todays-non-wired-journalist/

Along the way, you might find MTF grantee J-Lab's "Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive in the Digital Age" a helpful resource. This online primer breaks down all the new technology into manageable chunks and chapters. http://www.kcnn.org/resources/journalism_20/. Happy 2008 from the MTF Journalism Program.

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