Journalists and their sociopolitical opinions on Twitter

how embarrassing for the media

 

I'm as anti-Trump as it gets and she is EXHAUSTING.

 

A social media account that "belongs" to the outlet - that is, Roger Reporter tweeting news related to his job, as required by the employer - would, in my ideal world, stick to his work.

The same reporter would, in my ideal world, be at liberty to social media his/her ass off on his/her own accounts.

 

I don’t disagree with any of this. I’m wondering if it affects anyone’s opinion of that journalist.

 

Sure ... if a journalist's personal social media reflects what I think is intelligence or stupidity, that will affect my opinion of the person's work and his/her ability to do the job.

 

If the account is under the reporter's name, reporter's email, and reflects only the reporter's work and isn't a generic company account, then it belongs to the reporter. It's their brand, their following, and they can choose to do what they want with it - though that doesn't shield them from any consequences.

 

If I were running things, something from the "generic company account" would belong to the company. As in, when a reporter left the beat/outlet, the Twitter account would stay with the outlet/platform. (I'm looking at it from ownership/management side.)

 

I work(ed) for a couple of notable shops and the rule has always been to stay out of politics (actual politics, not topics like racial equality, which should never be political). I actually don't mind staying in my lane because too many tweets outside your coverage area can cost you readers, no matter the topic.

 

Yeah, but if the account is JoeBlowWaPo, that account should belong solely to Joe Blow. The company can have a social media policy, just like many have ethics and moral clauses. And if Joe Blow violates those policies, he suffers the consequences. But he can weigh the pros and cons of that himself -- the account still belongs to him and will have after he leaves the company.

 

The second paragraph of your post is spot on. Many of my readers are extreme MAGA types and my political views would make them angry. So I keep it off social media.

 

As long as you don't cost any high school kids their DI scholarships, then it's OK.

Let's reserve that for print.

 

I'm not sure many more prominent journalists care much about audience or readership. They are confident they'll have a job, somewhere, doing something, paying pretty well, so long as they have the correct worldview.