Zombie Journalism

Personally, I’m not a big fan of social media policies. While I recognize a lot of companies need to have these policies in place to cover their butts in court, I generally frown upon anything that gives journalists any excuse to not communicate openly with sources and/or readers via social media.
So this isn’t a social [...]

Despite its reputation, Twitter is not just to tell people what you had for breakfast. Journalists willing to learn the tool well can also use Twitter to:

Monitor the activities and interactions of people you cover
Crowdsource stories by asking your followers for ideas or info
Quickly find [...]

Even aside from the Washington Post’s social media policy itself, the method of its distribution and construction is cause for concern.

The Washington Post’s new social media policy for staff has more than enough eyebrow-raising ‘dont’s’ that are sure to scare any staffer away from the social web and seeks to turn off great connections with sources and readers.

Recommended links from Twitter data mining and visualizations to a Twitter client for journalists, more hand-wringing from “the establishment” and tips on social media policies.