Social Media Guidelines for Journalists in European Public Service Media

Resumo

Strategies and productive routines within the information arena are increasingly oriented towards social networks, as journalists use them to connect with the audience, gather information, disseminate content and build their own brand. Their activity on their personal profiles impacts the credibility of the media they work for, which is why these develop policies for the use of such platforms. In this chapter we analyze the social media guidelines developed by the public service broadcasting corporations of the European Union—BBC, ORF, RTÉ, Sveriges Radio, TVR, YLE, EITB, NDR and VRT—with the objective of clarifying the recommendations for their journalists. The analysis of these documents reveals that organizations place special emphasis on regulating the personal and professional use of social media accounts, the relationship with the audience, reporting, as well as on transparency and the treatment of confidential information.