I recently had coffee with a senior executive at the Newsquest newspaper group and chatted about declining revenues.
Grim-faced, he asked me how his editors could harness social media to drive traffic to their websites and increase readership of their newspapers.
I suggested viewing channels like Facebook and Twitter less as places to broadcast news and dump web links and more as community-building tools. Each individual reporter could grow their own crowd of contacts, I opined enthusiastically, and they would effectively market their paper through their relationships in those groups.
The more active, helpful, credible and trustworthy those reporters were ? the less self-promotional, one-way and robotic ? the more they would build the brand of their publication and drive interest in its journalistic content in print, audio or film. Using their special status as the eyes and ears of their towns and cities, journalists could become the ?go-to? online resources for the local news and opinion that matters.
Eight months later (though nothing to do with that conversation, which appears to have fallen on deaf ears ? more of which in a moment), reporters at my own local Newsquest title, The Argus, in Brighton and Hove, have excelled at exactly this sort of engagement.
Business editor John Keenan (@ArgusBizness on Twitter) chats genially with contacts, generously shares other people?s online content, gives his own jaunty but informed view and generally sticks up for the city?s businesses.
More laid back, but no less effective, crime reporter Ben Parsons (@SussexCrime) builds relations with rank and file coppers and gathers good will along the way by retweeting their official appeals.
Or how about education correspondent Emily-Ann Elliott (@SussexEducation), whose hundreds of followers include teachers, nursery assistants, headteachers and at least one governor? Or politics hack Tim Ridgway (@RidgwayTim), whose old school, out-on-patch investigation into possible riot-related unrest this week sparked a Twitter dialogue with a senior police officer and a city councillor?
There are many other excellent examples at The Argus of journalists providing a human layer of engagement ? Ruth Lumley, Anna Roberts, Andy Naylor, Naomi Loomes, Siobhan Ryan and Becky Evans among them ? way above and beyond anything the corporate profile (@BrightonArgus) could achieve alone.
Twitter has become central to the modus operandi of Argus journalists and I have no doubt it?s helping to build the reputation of the paper where squeezed resources are debasing it.
So it was with head-in-hands disappointment that I received an illicit copy of the company?s new ?social networking policy?, which seems to be an attempt to undo all this good work (full copy at the end of this post).
I say ?seems to? because I doubt Newsquest?s managers are actually aware of the socialised online communications being practised deftly by Argus reporters. If they were, their imposition of this document would be nothing short of deliberate sabotage.
The cack-handedness in drafting the policy has already been written about, as has the general grudging, defensive tone ? and I don?t intend to dwell on that. Suffice to say it presumes Twitter is a ?website?, makes specific reference to the internet dinosaurs ?MySpace, Bebo and Friendster? and relegates social networking as a tool of editorial research to something to be done in ?exceptional circumstances?, whatever that might mean.
It also fails to make any distinction between journalists using Newsquest hardware and servers and their own smartphones to access social media, while over-stating the increasingly irrelevant distinction between personal and work usage.
But it?s the thoughtless attack on progress that is the real story. This retrograde step ? at a stroke ? turns Newsquest?s tweeting journalists into rule-breakers, unless they drastically downgrade their use of that channel. Those I mention above would fall foul of the new rules because they seem to prohibit casual human engagement, casual association with The Argus brand (and that of other Newsquest papers) and live tweeting of news events, a particular fort? of reporters at The Argus. That is to say nothing of the sharing of and commentary on other people?s ?stuff? that is an integral part of any community membership.
Yes, Newsquest needs a social media policy but management should accept they simply don?t know as much about this stuff as their staff. Company leadership in 2011 is not about handing down diktats. It?s about empowering staff, who always have the best ideas to make the business better.
So why not ask the journalists using the internet to help draft the policy?
Here?s what one reporter at a Newsquest paper told me about the new policy:
?It is written by somebody who obviously has no involvement in social media. Twitter is an essential tool of journalism currently and they seem to have written it off saying we can be observers, not users. ?Journalists ? at least good ones ? are supposed to be part of their communities and interact with those around them.?
If any journalists want anonymously to give a view on the policy ? or if you represent Newsquest and want to respond ? please do so in the comments section below.
Here is the Newsquest ?social networking policy? as it was emailed to me:
???
*Hard copies of this Policy are on the notice boards.*
* *
*SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY*
*PURPOSE*
This policy on social networking websites is in addition to the
Company?s existing policy on email and internet use.
As employees are aware, the internet is provided primarily for
business use. The Company recognises that many employees use the
internet for personal purposes and that many employees participate in
social networking on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo
and Friendster.
The purpose of this policy is to outline the responsibilities of
employees using the internet to access social networking website,
which are not limited to the named sites above and include
photo-sharing sites, blogs, web forums and other associated websites.
*USE OF THE INTERNET*
The Company permits employees to access social networking websites on
the internet for personal use during certain times. These times are:
* before and after work hours; and
* during the one-hour break at lunch.
The Company reserves the right to restrict access to these websites.
The Company permits employees to access social networking websites on
the internet for business use as and when required providing this use
has a positive impact on the employee?s work and does not interfere
with the employee?s primary job responsibilities.
*PERSONAL CONDUCT*
The Company respects an employee?s right to a private life. However,
the Company must also ensure that confidentiality and its reputation
are protected. It therefore requires employees using social networking
websites to:
* refrain from identifying themselves as working for the Company;
* ensure that they do not conduct themselves in a way that is
detrimental to the employer; and
* take care not to allow their interaction on these websites to
damage working relationships between members of staff, advertisers
and clients of the Company.
*Business Use ? Exceptional Circumstances*
Exceptional circumstances may apply, where in a work capacity, an
employee may identify themselves as working for the company which are
as follows:
? In promoting a Company event linked to one of the Company products
? Through one of the Company?s products social networking pages
? Editorial research
In these circumstances, employees are responsible for representing the
company in a professional manner.
All employees should ensure that any personal blogs and other personal
posts contain disclaimers that make it clear that the opinions
expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the
views of the company.
Employees are not permitted to write recommendations or referrals on
social networking sites in relation to the Company.
Employees should not make reference to any customers, advertiser or
staff without obtaining their express permission to do so.
In any event, employees should at all times comply with the law in
regard to copyright and plagiarism.
*MONITORING OF INTERNET ACCESS AT WORK*
The Company reserves the right to monitor employees? internet usage,
but will endeavour to inform an affected employee when this is to
happen and the reasons for it. The Company considers that valid
reasons for checking an employee?s internet usage include suspicions
that the employee has:
* been spending an excessive amount of time viewing websites that
are not work-related; or
* Use of the internet for personal use during working hours
* acted in a way that damages the reputation of the Company and/or
breaches commercial confidentiality.
The Company reserves the right to retain information that it has
gathered on employees? use of the internet for a period of one year.
*SECURITY AND IDENTITY THEFT*
Employees should be aware that social networking websites are a public
forum, particularly if the employee is part of a ?network?. Employees
should not assume that their entries on any website will remain
private. Employees should never send abusive or defamatory messages.
Privacy and feelings of others should be respected at all times.
Employees should obtain the permission of individuals before posting
contact details or pictures. Care should be taken to avoid using
language which could be deemed as offensive to others.
Employees must also be security conscious and should take steps to
protect themselves from identity theft, for example by restricting the
amount of personal information that they give out. Social networking
websites allow people to post detailed personal information such as
date of birth, place of birth and favourite football team, which can
form the basis of security questions and passwords. In addition,
employees should:
* ensure that no information is made available that could provide a
person with unauthorised access to the Company and/or any
confidential information; and
* refrain from recording any confidential information regarding the
Company on any social networking website.
*MANAGING THE POLICY*
If information on the site raises a cause for concern with regard to
conflict of interest, defamation or any other breach of the Social
Networking Policy, employees should raise the issue with their line
manager.
If occasion arise of what might be read to be online bullying or
harassment, these will be dealt with in the same way as other such
instances under the Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work policy.
*DISCIPINARY ACTION*
Non-compliance of the Social Networking policy or in instances where
the Company is brought into disrepute as a result of non-compliance
may constitute misconduct or gross misconduct and disciplinary action
will be applied. Please refer to the Company?s Disciplinary Policy.
?
Source: http://michael-taggart.com/2011/08/10/newsquest-social-media-policy-argus-twitter/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.