The Washington Post Restricts Tweets

As print newspapers continue to lose profit many are starting to embrace the internet and Web 2.0 programs. This to me seems logical. With more and more citizen journalists breaking news on Twitter you would think traditional media outlets would be encouraging staff to use the program to show readers that they are still relevant. Not the Washington Post which has put out a new set of guidelines for staff using Facebook, Twitter and other online social networks. The Post's main worry is that readers will mistake a journalists personal opinion for the papers. With an ever growing number of journalists also blogging this seems a bit pointless. I would be very suprised if any readers did not recognise an objective opinion from hard news. Here a bit of what the Post has to say:

“When using these networks, nothing we do must call into question the impartiality of our news judgment. We never abandon the guidelines that govern the separation of news from opinion, the importance of fact and objectivity, the appropriate use of language and tone, and other hallmarks of our brand of journalism.”