Editors may need to rethink guidelines for social media

The majority of major news organizations follow guidelines set by the Associated Press Stylebook, or create their own formal stylebook for editors to follow. While these guidelines are generally accepted in print media and as basic standards for journalism, some readers and online participants are suggesting more relaxed rules for online social media formats.

The main topics that came under scrutiny were anonymous remarks and journalist participation in online discussions.

The Associated Press reported that according to the Online Journalism Credibility Study released Tuesday by the Associated Press Managing Editors group and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, 70 percent of editors surveyed said requiring commenters to disclose their identities would support good journalism, while only 45 percent of the public did.

The study also reported that 58 percent of editors said letting journalists join online conversations and give personal views would harm journalism, but only 36 percent of the public agreed.

Topics the editors and readers did agree on included the need to ensure accuracy, fairness of coverage, labeling of commentary and the desirability of depth (such as links to outside more detailed content).

The study was created to gauge what kinds of changes newspapers should be making as they continue to blend print with web operations, but unfortunately raised more questions than it answered.

What became clear was that readers are looking for something more personal and interactive online, and editors will surely have to develop new guidelines to handle that.