Social Media Guidelines for INC Journalists

Social Media Guidelines for INC Journalists
A Project in Lieu of Thesis

Daniel Moran
4/4/2016

University of Florida - College of Journalism and Communications
Degree program: Master of Arts in Mass Communication
Major: Journalism

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Introduction
Individuals adjust news consumption habits regularly, and this has a direct impact on how
media organizations produce news (Mitchell, 2015). As we move further into a digital world,
more individuals are consuming news online with the adoption of smartphones and tablets. A
newsroom can now connect more easily to audiences. Additionally, audiences now have a higher
desire to interact and contribute to news stories in a generation where citizen journalism is made
easier with access to microblogging platforms. This stems from users being able to upload their
original photos and videos from major news events (Anderson & Caumont, 2014; Johnson, 2013;
Lasora et. al., 2012; Matsa & Mitchell, 2014).
For journalists, social media challenges the way they approach and engage in their work.
In addition, social media has transformed and facilitated the ability for journalists to gather
information, connect with sources, and interact with their audience on a more informal and
personal level (Boczkowski, 2004; Canter, 2014). Twitter has become a “virtual notebook”
allowing journalists to share facts, opinions, and “real-time updates on breaking news events”
(Twitter.com, 2015, para. 2).
Social media skills are no longer considered an added bonus on a journalist’s resume;
well-developed social media skills are an essential tool for journalists to wield. Modern news
organizations worldwide are seeking applicants who are competent in social media and flourish
in a digital newsroom (Bor, 2014). Most researchers agree that it is no longer enough for
journalism students to be knowledgeable about basic communication and reporting skills; they
must go beyond this and incorporate the use of social media into their storytelling (Bor, 2014;
Wenger & Owens, 2012).

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Currently, the news distribution channels within the University of Florida Innovation
News Center (INC) have an active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Yik Yak, with
discussion of using Snapchat more heavily; however, the INC lacks a social media guidelines
document, making consistency and expectations difficult to uphold.
Most articles and research agree that a social media guidelines document for a business or
newsroom is essential (King, 2010; Sparks, 2013). A social media guide allows an organization
to improve performance on social media, helps build a dedicated online community, and sets a
protocol for all individuals involved with the organization to follow.
To develop a social media guideline for the INC, I designed a project directly focused on
newsroom managers and students working within the INC. This involved qualitative interviews
with newsroom managers and students at various stages of their experience in the INC. The
resulting two documents sought to be a supplement to students’ coursework within the
newsroom and related syllabi. They also sought to provide insight about using social media as
journalists and how newsroom managers can manage and contribute to official INC accounts.
My qualifications to complete this project include a combined education in public
relations, English, and journalism. I also worked as a graduate assistant at the University of
Florida in the INC under Professor Mindy McAdams from August 2014–May 2016. During this
assistantship, I had hands-on experience by maintaining WUFT’s official social media accounts
and establishing an online voice for the brand. I also gained insight as to what works well for
students across different social media platforms in relation to our audience.
To supplement my education, I dabbled in creative storytelling during my time as the
associate editor for Due South, a University of South Alabama campus magazine and an
internship with Access Magazine focused on life and beauty in Mobile, Alabama. For both

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positions, I was challenged with the task of creating an identity and voice for the publications on
social media.
Collectively, these experiences and education prepared me to take the next step and
document what I have learned to pass on to future students working within the INC, both to keep
the social media accounts for WUFT News alive and to contribute to developing standards and
best practices.

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Literature Review
Social Media
Social media has been broadly defined as the online tools individuals use to “construct a
public or semi-public profile within a bounded system” (boyd and Ellison, 2008, p. 211). Brian
Solis (2007) described how these tools facilitate conversations among people using a shared
network and can include “blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks,
networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs” (para. 12). Individuals use social media to go beyond
the broadcast model of traditional media and incorporate a “conversational format between
authors and people” (Solis, 2007, para. 16).
Social media platforms have evolved into an intricate, yet significant tool within
newsrooms worldwide. Millions of individuals seeking information turn to social media for
quick, efficient, and reliable information (Milbrath, 2012; Morris, 2009). According to Johnson
(2013), most users find news initially on social media platforms where information regarding
“natural disasters, sports scores, the death of a celebrity and more are shared first” (Twitter
Spreads the News section, para. 1).
The number of Americans who consider Twitter and Facebook as a source for news
“outside their realm of friends and family” has significantly increased from 2013 to 2015 by 11
percent and 16 percent respectively. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed 63
percent of Twitter users and also 63 percent of Facebook users find news on the platforms
(Barthel et. al, 2015, para 2).
Twitter
Twitter was launched in March 2006 by co-founders Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, and
Biz Stone as a free social networking and microblogging platform to send and read posts, known

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as tweets, with a 140-character limit. This character limit includes external URLs along with
attached photos and video.
Twitter is an online tool for individuals, businesses, and media organizations to connect
with their target audience in order to deliver facts and opinions, build brand recognition, and
research important information (Johnson, 2013; Williams, 2009).
To emphasize the delivery and promotion of news and information on the platform, in
2009, Twitter changed the prompted question for a tweet from “What are you doing?” to
“What’s happening?” This change occurred after developers of the site realized users were
sharing more than simple status updates, but were instead reporting events around them that they
cared about (Nuttall, 2009; Stone, 2009).
To further emphasize its focus on news, Twitter developed a secret project, initially
referred to as Project Lightning, to highlight trending news articles and curated tweets about
major events (Honan, 2015). Twitter launched the Moments tab in October 2015 on the website
and in its iOS and Android mobile apps. Moments allows users to see trending topics and
provides the user with curated content on the topic with the goal of “helping you find the best of
Twitter – regardless of who you follow” (Muthukumar, 2015, para. 3). The content within the
Moments tab is collected mostly by Twitter's curation team, but some contributions come from
partners such as Bleacher Report, Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Fox News, Getty Images,
Mashable, MLB, NASA, The New York Times, Vogue and The Washington Post (Muthukumar,
2015, para. 7).
To emphasize its dedication to reporting live events, Twitter purchased Periscope in
January 2015 (Weil, 2015). Periscope allows users to share live experiences with an audience

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who can directly comment on the live stream and “express their love by tapping the screen to
send hearts” (Up Periscope, para. 3).
However, Twitter is not the only social platform where adults are receiving news.
Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 while studying psychology at Harvard
University. The platform initially was made available only to Harvard University students, and
then extended to all U.S. universities. The platform extended to U.S. high schools in September
2005 and became an international platform the following month. In September 2006, the
platform was made available beyond individuals associated with an educational institution to
anyone with a registered email address (Phillips, 2007).
Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open
and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to
discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.
(Facebook Company Info, 2015).
Facebook is a dominant source for news for adults, but it does not replace traditional
media outlets. Instead, the platform works as a supplement. The categories of news adults seek
and consume on Facebook range from community happenings, local weather, and the most
popular is politics and government. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014
showed that “nearly half (48%) of web-using adults access news about politics and government
on Facebook” (Mitchell et. al., 2014, para. 2). This number increased to 61 percent in 2015 when
it was found that Facebook users are “more likely to post and respond to content about
government and politics” than users on Twitter (Barthel et. al, 2015, para 6-8).

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To emphasize a focus on news, Facebook launched “Instant Articles” as a trial project,
which currently allows 14 media organizations to publish directly on Facebook instead of linking
to their external websites (Griffith, 2015). The 14 platforms are The New York Times, National
Geographic, BuzzFeed, NBC News, The Atlantic, The Guardian, BBC News, Spiegel Online,
Bild, MTV, Slate, Cosmopolitan, DailyMail.com, The Huffington Post, The Dodo, Mic, Vox
Media, and The Washington Post (Instant Articles, 2016). Developers are still looking to see how
well Instant Articles will perform. Michael Reckhow, the product manager for Instant Articles,
said users are more likely to click on an Instant Article as opposed to a pasted link because they
know it will load faster, “the majority load in under a second” (Owen, 2015, para. 7).
Facebook also offers a tailored “trending news” section when the site is accessed from a
computer. The section allows users to see specific news categories including politics, science and
technology, sports, and entertainment. The feature does not currently have a designated tab on
the mobile app, but the trending topics are viewable by tapping the search bar within the app
(Ma, 2015).
Instagram
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded “the #1 photo social platform” Instagram in
October 2010. Facebook purchased Instagram in April 2012 (Geoff, 2014).
Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of
pictures. Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the
image into a memory to keep around forever. We're building Instagram to allow you to
experience moments in your friends' lives through pictures as they happen. We imagine a
world more connected through photos. (Instagram.com, 2015).

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Instagram does not have a strong emphasis on news; the most obvious example of this is
that the platform does not offer a “convenient method to drive traffic directly to a media outlet’s
own site from within” the app (Titlow, 2012, para. 2). There is an ability to have one URL within
the user’s profile, but otherwise the app does not hyperlink URLs posted within the app.
“For media outlets, Instagram is less about driving traffic than engaging readers and
extending their brand to a new, wildly popular platform” (Titlow, 2012, para. 8). The consensus
seems to be that journalists and journalism organizations use the platform to build their brand
and post photos and videos associated with their stories but do not use it as a major platform in
storytelling.
However, this approach has the potential to evolve. Journalists and award-winning
photographers are using the platform to document and explore visually stimulating stories such
as reporting underrepresented communities “who rarely show up in mainstream media coverage”
(Brooks, 2015, para 2).
Journalists and Newsrooms
It is important for newsrooms to adopt and implement social media guidelines in order to
alleviate confusion and avoid inconsistent or inappropriate uses. Journalists are always
representing their news organization, so it is essential to present their online identity in a
professional manner that coincides with the goals of the media organization (Betancourt, 2009).
Newsrooms are encouraging journalists to promote and report their stories on social
media because newsroom managers understand “that social platforms drive traffic to news
content” (Fischer, 2014, “Some Journalists Use Social Media - and Some Don’t” section, para.
4). Journalists do not use their accounts only to report their stories. To create a more authentic
digital self-image, journalists often approach their accounts with “a mixture of humor,

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information, and personal tidbits” (Fischer, 2014, “It Really Takes An Entire Newsroom To
Drive Traffic” section, para. 3).
Professional News Organizations Best Practices
Allowing journalists and social media editors to have free rein over their accounts when
reporting stories is not heavily advised. Instead, the creation of general social media guidelines is
encouraged. Ward (2009) says “the future of responsible journalism depends on…” developing
guidelines in connection with the “reinvention of journalism ethics” (“Taking the wrong
approach” section, para. 7-8).
One way to encourage journalists to be creative and active in their social media presence
is by sharing success stories. NPR maintains a Tumblr blog focused on providing examples and
success stories centered on social media for journalists and media entities, specifically for NPR
(NPR Social Media Desk, 2015). This is a public and transparent blog that any journalist or
researcher can access to gain insight into how to use social media effectively.
The social media guidelines for most professional news organizations stem from general
ethical principles. These guidelines are not heavily detailed and restrictive, but instead flexible to
encourage the incorporation of new media with reasonable restraints in correlation with the
ethical goals of journalism (Hohmann, 2011; NPR Ethics Handbook, 2015; Ward, 2009). The
goal is not to tell journalists what they cannot do, but show them how to approach the platforms
and encourage their creativity in doing so.
Correspondents for national news organizations emphasize that “overly burdensome
guidelines are not necessary, as long as reporters use the same judgment for tweets as for regular
news stories” (Takacs, 2015, “Guidance vs. Rules: Striking a Balance” section, para. 7). These

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guidelines often emphasize the importance of “conduct yourself online just as you would in any
other public circumstance” as a journalist (NPR Ethics Handbook, 2015, para. 1).
The arrangement of most guidelines is organized into categories that highlight specific
ethical codes. The text following the guidelines briefly elaborates within two to four paragraphs
on how these codes apply to a journalist’s approach to social media.
For example, NPR’s first category is “accuracy,” with the following four guidelines: “(1)
Don’t just spread information. Be careful and skeptical. (2) When in doubt, consult the social
media team. (3) Follow up offline when appropriate. (4) Take care in using images that have
been posted online” (NPR Ethics Handbook, 2015, p. 1-2). This approach and organization
reinforces the journalism code of ethics established by the media organization and helps a
journalist understand how to approach social media accounts the same way they would approach
a story.
University of Florida, Innovation News Center
The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) mission
statement leads with: “Our mission is to prepare exemplary professional practitioners and
scholars for journalism and communications fields and to generate and exchange new knowledge
about these fields” (Mission Statement, UFCJC, 2011).
The UFCJC opened the Innovation News Center (INC) in 2012 as the headquarters for
the College’s “news, weather and sports operations,” providing students the ability to learn
professional news methods and practices across multiple platforms (About the INC, UFCJC,
2015).
These platforms allow students the opportunity to gain experience in the positions of
reporters, producers, and editors who work “together to report the news for the College’s many

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distribution channels, including WUFT-TV, WUFT-FM 89.1, ESPN 850 WRUF, Country 103.7
the Gator, WUFT-TV 6, wuft.org and other affiliated websites” (About the INC, UFCJC, 2015).
The majority of these platforms maintain their own respective social media accounts on
platforms including Facebook and Twitter, and WUFT News has an Instagram and Yik Yak
account. Some students have the opportunity to use the social media accounts to promote
published stories as well as television broadcasts and radio stories. Additionally, students are
encouraged by newsroom managers to post information, photos, and videos on Twitter from their
personal accounts in relation to the stories they are reporting. However, there is no clear
instructional guide readily available.
For social media education, the UFCJC currently offers an online master’s degree,
specializing in social media, and a combined degree in public relations and social media, but
currently the programs do not have a presence within the INC. For undergraduate students, the
UFCJC additionally offers a social media management course where “students develop and
produce social media outreach and engagement for WUFT.org” by serving weekly four-hour
shifts within the INC to produce social media posts for the official WUFT News Facebook and
Twitter platforms (McAdams, 2015).
The INC has established an intranet where information for all platforms and general
guidelines are shared. Students working within the INC are encouraged to check the intranet
daily for a morning “follow sheet” where information regarding the stories being worked on that
day is shared.
In the general guidelines tab, sections outline ethics, phone and newsroom basics,
computer policies, and other important operational information for students in the newsroom.

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In the ethics section, it is stated that the INC adheres to codes of ethics as written by the
Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and NPR.
The INC highlights the following ethical codes of conduct:
1. Reflect reality. Ensure audio and video edits reflect the true nature of the event and the
intent of the speakers.
2. Be impartial and independent. Keep your opinion private. Avoid affiliating with
advocacy groups. Politely decline gifts, including food or tickets. You represent WUFT
News, not the University of Florida.
3. Be fair and thorough. Include all sides. Provide context and perspective. Convey
accurate impressions. Strive for the most complete coverage.
4. Be mindful of the right to privacy. Respect the privacy of the public, especially when
covering traumatic events or tragedy. But weigh the right to privacy against the public’s
need to know.
5. Avoid plagiarism. Attribute words, audio and images created by others. Paraphrasing is
not a substitute for attribution. Credit the sources of ideas through hyperlinks or phrases
such “as previously reported by.”
6. Be a watchdog. Hold government officials accountable for their words and actions.
Ensure public business is conducted in public. (WUFT News Code of Ethics, 2015).
While all of these efforts potentially prepare a student for a career in their journalism area
of choice, the social media education the UFCJC offers is not required, while use of social media
in the INC is highly encouraged by newsroom managers.
Slack

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The INC currently uses Slack as an internal communication tool. It can be accessed
online or on a mobile device with the downloaded app. Slack is described as “team
communication for the 21st
century” and allows you to organize team conversations into
channels focused on specific topics (Slack, 2016). In addition to general text-based messages,
links and file attachments can also be sent.
The INC uses Slack to connect reporters and editors quickly and efficiently. Additionally,
it’s used for specific news coverage where dedicated channels are created for a specific story or
event. Currently, the INC has 16 public channels. These channels include the following titles:
breakingweather, copchat, desk_ops_bot, gnvelection, industryreporters, pitch, radiodesk,
sportsdesk, theothers_scoopbot, tvdesk, weathertogether, breaking, election-coverage, random,
and tips. Each channel is accompanied with a brief explanation of the channel’s purpose. Users
can join any and every channel they wish to stay up-to-date with information. What the current
channels lack is one dedicated to social media.

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Method
In order to supply students working within the INC with appropriate guidelines for social
media, I developed two web-based documents and one Slack channel. I initially planned to
showcase both of these documents on the newsroom intranet, which is hosted using WordPress
and is accessible to all students working within the INC through their personal login. Instead,
one document is now available on the newsroom intranet and the other on Slack, the internal
communication app used by the INC. After closer consideration and discussion with newsroom
managers, it was evident that the Slack platform would be easier to maintain than a WordPress-
based document.
The first document is the social media guideline. The document, which was inspired by
the INC’s general guidelines section (discussed above), highlights the ethical codes of conduct
supported by the INC and acts as a general guide on how a student should approach social media.
In order to create this document, I interviewed nine INC newsroom managers and
directors: Eric Esterline, Gary Green, Bridget Grogan, Jeff Huffman, Mark Leeps, Ethan Magoc,
Matt Sheehan, Forrest Smith, and Ryan Vasquez.
These interviews, which lasted approximately 30–60 minutes each, took a qualitative
approach with a semi-structured interview guide to discover the managers’ opinions and goals in
relation to practices of students utilizing social media as part of their coursework. Interview
questions focused on the ethical expectations they set for students when they are reporting for
WUFT and general overall expectations of how they present themselves to the public in
connection to their work. Questions for the interviews included:
1. What ethical elements of journalism do you find most important for your students to
follow in relation to social media?

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2. Do you have concerns about unethical uses of social media by students?
3. Do you encourage or require students to utilize social media platforms in relation to the
stories they are reporting?
4. Is it an encouragement or requirement?
5. If yes, which platforms?
6. What do you instruct students to do when using these platforms? Do you give them a
handout or assign materials to read in relation to social media use?
7. If yes, may I have a copy of the handout or assigned materials?
8. What do you expect students to produce on social media platforms?
9. What do you hope students learn from using these platforms?
10. What are some of the most common problems that you’ve noticed with student social
media postings? Common errors/mistakes? Liabilities?
11. What’s gone wrong?
12. What’s gone right?
13. What did you think they understood about proper social media use that they apparently
didn’t?
14. What would you want a social media guidelines document presented to students on their
first day working in the INC to include?
15. What do you think is the most serious mistake made by students using social media in
connection with the INC or their classes?
Originally I only planned to interview newsroom mangers. After suggestions from my
committee, I incorporated interviews with six students at varying levels of experience in the INC.
These levels of experience were determined by the number of semesters spent within the INC.

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Four entry-level students were interviewed and two well-experienced students were interviewed.
These interviews, which lasted approximately 15–25 minutes each, took a qualitative approach
with a semi-structured interview guide to discover their use of social media in the INC and the
instruction and encouragement they have received from their respective newsroom supervisor.
Questions for the interviews included:
1. Do you use a social media account in relation to your coursework within the newsroom?
2. Do you use your personal account or operate an official newsroom account?
4. Were you encouraged by your instructor to use these platforms?
5. If yes, what instructions did they offer to you?
6. Did they give you a handout, or offer any links or other written instructions on how to
approach social media in the newsroom?
7. What issues, if any, have you encountered when using a social media account in relation
to your coursework within the newsroom?
8. What questions did you have when you first started using a social media account in
relation to your coursework within the newsroom?
The responses in these interviews from both newsroom managers and students were
transcribed and later analyzed for common themes. Comparisons were also made to the findings
from the literature review. This collective information guided the creation of the guidelines to
ensure overall goals of INC managers and instructors were achieved as well as clarity and
appropriateness for the students they would serve.
The second document focused on WUFT News social media success stories, playing off
of what NPR created with their NPR Social Media Desk (2015) Tumblr blog. The document

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offers a guide on how to create a consistent stream of weekly updates highlighting the successful
social media posts that did well the previous week, both on official WUFT News accounts and
those submitted from students.
Originally, I sought to structure it similar to the morning “follow sheet” posts, with
screenshots of the successful social media posts. After discussion with newsroom managers to
understand how this model would continue upon my departure, I discovered Slack was an easier
platform to use because it requires less effort from newsroom managers and students and is a
platform they already access on a daily basis, whereas not every student checks the morning
follow sheet. Slack encourages users to look at a post immediately thanks to the notifications
feature on both the web and mobile platforms.
To launch the new Slack channel dedicated to social media, I created a document that
was pinned to the channel that details how to highlight a successful social media post, who
should do it, and how often. I reviewed this document with the two newsroom managers most
directly involved since it will mainly affect their students.
The goal of this channel and document is to highlight exemplary social media posts in
order to help students understand the importance of social media and motivate them to be
creative and active in their social media use.
At the conclusion of the project, final deliverables are two documents and one newly
created Slack channel. One document is the general guideline created within the newsroom
intranet under “The INC and you” tab. The second document is a PDF file which was pinned to
the top of the newly created Slack channel dedicated to social media. The deliverables were
presented to the INC director upon completion and were adopted and implemented at his
discretion.

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Results
In this section you will first find a synthesis of the interviews with newsroom managers
and students followed by the final versions of the guidelines created.
Newsroom managers
Most newsroom managers were helpful in offering advice on how their students
implemented and used social media in their daily activities.
One newsroom manager did not encourage or require social media use at all. This
manager’s answers were taken lightly since they did not have clear observation on how their
students were using social media platforms in the INC.
One newsroom manager was in the initial stage of implementing a stronger social media
approach for their platform. This manager stressed it is still a learning environment for their
students and stronger expectations will eventually be enforced.
Guideline structure
During the interviews, newsroom managers largely agreed that the guideline needed to
cover a lot of information but still needed to be consumed in one sitting. Students are introduced
to a plethora of information upon entering the INC. It was important to keep it short and to the
point.
The resulting document is concise. Additionally, it is an encouraging, flexible, and
suggestive guideline with emphasis on how to successfully approach the platforms used most
commonly within the INC: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
One issue addressed by newsroom managers was longevity so that the document could be
used every semester without updates. The document created is evergreen in that it applies to
every social media platform, not just the ones that exist today.

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Prominent ethical guidelines identified by newsroom managers
The salient ethical guidelines newsroom mangers advise students to follow were honesty,
accuracy, and impartiality. Each newsroom manager stressed their importance and relevance to
the work their students are producing in the INC.
One newsroom manager focused a lot on empathy for the reader and for the subjects
involved in stories. Not only should students proceed cautiously when reporting on sensitive
topics, but they should also refrain from using words that tell the news consumer how to feel.
Professionalism of social media accounts
All newsroom managers discussed professionalism during their interviews. They urged
the importance of students presenting themselves online just as they should when they interview
a source or attend an event as a WUFT reporter.
Most newsroom managers agreed that students should have only one social media
account per social platform. This one account would be clean and professional and would
creatively blend their professional and private lives. One newsroom manager differed in this
saying that they should have two separate accounts: one strictly for their professional work and
one for their personal life.
Research showed that most professional news organizations encourage or require only
one account per platform for the purpose of transparency. While a personal account can be set to
private, it does not guarantee explicit privacy. The private account can be found where a
journalist may be posting inappropriate images, video and text. The “private” account can be
linked back to the journalist’s professional account and the news entity they work for. Due to
this, only one account is usually encouraged or mandated by professional news organizations.

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Most of what newsroom managers requested to include regarding a professional social
media account is already covered in a project created by Kelly Audette at the University of
Florida, which is also hosted on the INC’s intranet. A section of her project details the
requirements of a professional profile in the INC. Therefore, that section of her project was
hyperlinked under the “Using social media as a reporter” section in the guideline to avoid
duplicating information.
Creativity
Several newsroom managers stressed the importance of social media in the professional
field and how students should find innovative ways to use the platforms to report stories. They
discussed how the INC is a learning environment where students should experiment with
different social media platforms now and learn how to use them best.
Common problems newsroom managers observe
When asked about major errors or problems they see students have with social media,
managers mostly focused on technical aspects. Most mentioned things like not fully knowing
how to use a social media platform to its fullest potential as well as grammar or spelling
mistakes.
Two newsroom managers encourage students to have an initial “scene setter” tweet that
explains what the student is about to report when out in the field or at an event. They said
students don’t often understand how to do this, which ends up damaging their live tweeting
session. I’ve seen this firsthand from monitoring their social media where after receiving their
“scene setter” I don’t always know their point or what they’re talking about.

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A few managers addressed that there is a lack of knowledge of proper terminology
among students. For example, they see that students often “convict someone prematurely”
because they are unaware of the correct way to phrase the legal situation.
When asked about extreme situations where a student used social media incorrectly,
several newsroom managers recalled the same incident and told it to me from their perspective.
To synthesize their perspectives, a news story emerged in our coverage area involving a football
player and alleged rape victim. A student, who in his Twitter bio explicitly stated he was a
WUFT reporter, was tweeting information from a “source” that turned out to be a friend of the
football player. The reporter’s tweets drew a lot of attention quickly, due to the popularity of the
story. The quotes and tweets, which were not newsroom-supported, were picked up by national
news organizations. The student was instructed to delete the tweets and newsroom managers
discussed the severity of the situation with him to prevent him from doing it in the future.
Examples of what do to on social media
Both newsroom managers and students stressed the need for examples and visuals of how
to use social media in the INC. They expressed that different people learn differently and having
visual examples broadens the approach by giving students who learn visually an opportunity to
consume the information in an easier way.
Students
Four students who were serving their first semester in the newsroom in spring 2016 were
interviewed as “entry-level students.” Two web students, one TV student and one radio student
were interviewed at this level.
Two students who had worked in the newsroom for three or more semesters were
interviewed as “experienced students.” These two students had experience on every platform:

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web, radio and TV.
Use of social media in the newsroom
Whether or not a student used social media in the INC mirrored whether or not a
newsroom manager encouraged or required it. If a newsroom manager encouraged it, a student
used social media. If a newsroom manager did not encourage it, a student was less likely to use
social media.
Entry-level students had lack of understanding
There was a clear distinction between the students who were serving their first semester
in the newsroom and the students who had served three or more semesters in the newsroom.
Entry-level students said that they did not understand the importance or relevance of
using social media in connection to their journalism work. They said that they used social media
in their personal life, but did not see significance in transitioning their accounts to be more
professional.
They expressed that they had not learned much about incorporating social media into
their reporting from their courses and did not see a reason to start upon entering the INC.
Experienced students were more proactive on social media
Students who had more experience in the newsroom stressed that their social media
accounts were an important part of their journalism work. They could see, based on followers,
likes, retweets, etc., that using social media platforms gave them the ability to reach a larger
audience and report their story in a different way than the traditional radio, TV or web medium
they were working for. These students also understood the importance of social media
experience on a resume for potential employers.

23

These students expressed a passion for news. They followed multiple professional
journalists and news organizations on social media and discovered creative ways to use the
platforms inspired by how the professionals were using them. These skills included quickly
adopting new features introduced on social media platforms as well as trying new platforms
entirely.
How they could have been better prepared
When asked about what issues these students initially had with using social media in the
newsroom, they said having social media use encouraged or required in their journalism classes
could have better prepared them for using the platforms as a student journalist. They said they
had small social media assignments, but nothing that helped them understand how to incorporate
the tools efficiently in the newsroom.
What worked well for experienced students
One student took the social media management course offered by the university, which
was mentioned in the literature review. The student said the class was a decent general
introduction to social media, but they learned more from serving the weekly four-hour shifts in
the newsroom. They said the hands-on approach where teaching moments were offered through
actual situations in the newsroom were more valuable than hypothetical situations in the
classroom.
Both of these students worked closely with me throughout their four semesters in the
newsroom and mentioned my advice and support as ways they learned how to improve on social
media. They said having someone supervise their efforts and offer critiques and encouragement
helped shape how they used the platforms.
All students entered the newsroom clueless about social media

24

A common aspect all students addressed was that they did not know what they should or
could do on social media. The more experienced students recalled that when entering the INC,
they were encouraged to use social media without much instruction. Some newsroom managers
provided handouts for social media, some of which were generic and dated. Some did not
provide anything at all.
The more experienced students said they worked to figure it out on their own, but entry-
level students were less inclined to put in the extra effort for something their respective
newsroom manager(s) did not support.
Resulting documents
The findings during the interviews with newsroom managers and students were used to
guide the focus and construction of the guidelines. The document is organized into categories
with specific ethical or general guidelines under each section.
Most guidelines are highlighted with a pull quote from an interview attributed to
“newsroom manager.” I chose to provide attribution in this form to protect the identity of the
specific manager as well as make it evergreen. Several years from now the quote will still be
relevant, but a newsroom manager may have moved on to new opportunities.
Social Media
Social media is an invaluable tool for a journalist to enhance content. It offers an additional platform for
finding stories and sources, and a way to broadcast your finished story to a larger audience. Approach
social media as you would approach the journalism platform you’re reporting for in the INC. The same
expectations for professionalism, ethics and etiquette for the work you produce in the INC apply to your
social media use. Above everything else, always remember you represent the INC.
Just because we are a student experience doesn’t mean we aren’t held to the same standards as anybody
else. – Newsroom Manager
Relevance Of Social Media To Your Career
Guideline: Experiment with social media now.

25

Social media skills are no longer considered an added bonus on a journalist’s resume; well-developed
social media skills are essential. Modern news organizations worldwide are seeking applicants who are
competent in social media and flourish in a digital newsroom.
You need to be promoting your work and building your reputation within the social media sphere for your
profile and content to carry into the job market and beyond. – Newsroom Manager
Using Social Media As A Reporter
Guideline: Approach social media as you would approach all of your journalism work.
You know how to use social media in your personal life, but now you must apply what you’ve learned
from your courses to use social media as a journalist. Social media can be used as a creative story telling
tool to relay information to an audience.
Be interactive and give the audience something to chew on, otherwise they are going to keep scrolling. –
Newsroom Manager
Guideline: Present yourself professionally, even when off the clock.
As a student journalist, you are working towards being a professional journalist. To create a more
authentic digital self-image, journalists often approach their accounts with a mixture of humor,
information, and personal tidbits. You don’t have to strip away your personal identity entirely, but present
yourself professionally (“professionally” will hyperlink to “your profile” section of Kelly’s guide) in a
way that makes sense with the work you’re producing. Remember you still represent your newsroom in
your personal time.
Guideline: Find inspiration from professional journalists.
With access to the Internet, the work of professional journalists is at your fingertips. Follow them and
notice how they present information on different social media platforms. Deduce the best practices that
work for how you want to present yourself as a journalist online. Pay attention to how these journalists
use social media to tell a story and engage their audience. Use their accounts to inspire your own voice.
The innovators and leaders of the industry are trying new things differently. Expose yourself to
professional journalists who use social media successfully and emulate some of those best practices. –
Newsroom Manager
Accuracy And Transparency
Guideline: First and foremost, be accurate.
Be skeptical of the information you encounter on social media, just as you’re skeptical of the information
you discover while reporting. Verify and fact check everything you see on social media and everything
you post on social media.
Everyone wants to be first, but not everyone wants to be accurate. We always want to be accurate. –
Newsroom Manager

26

Guideline: Quadruple check your work.
On social media, an editor or newsroom manager isn’t looking over your shoulder to approve what you’re
writing. Look it over closely. Read it aloud. Catch the spelling/grammar mistakes before you send it out,
not after.
Grammar Nazis on the Internet will immediately discount the best news in the world if they think you
misplaced a comma. It’s petty and it’s weird, but it’s important. – Newsroom Manager
Guideline: Verify and attribute any form of media you receive.
With technology, it’s easy to manipulate photos, videos and audio recordings. Take anything you receive
and work backwards to guarantee the validity of the media before sharing it on social media. You can do
this by using reverse search engines like Vechos (“vechos” will hyperlink to https://angel.co/vechos) to
find where photos and video appear on the web. Ensure you have explicit permission to use the media and
provide appropriate attribution.
Guideline: Acknowledge mistakes.
On social media, mistakes are instant. While we aim to limit mistakes made, we want to be transparent
when we make an error. Instead of deleting the post, identify the inaccuracy and update the audience with
the correct information.
Honesty
Guideline: Seek truth and report it.
Millions of individuals seeking information turn to social media for quick, efficient, and reliable
information. You must in turn be quick, efficient, and reliable.
Guideline: Sources must be reliable.
Social media is a perfect way to develop a network of two-way engagement. As it would apply to a face-
to-face interview, all online sources must be on-the-record. Just because the source is on-the-record online
doesn’t mean they’re validated. Use social media as a starting point and follow up with further
investigation or a phone call to verify a person’s identity and information. Be aware of false
identification. You can easily catch a fake account with this list of 11 ways to spot a fake account. (11
ways…will hyperlink to http://chrismakara.com/social-media/11-easy-ways-to-spot-a-fake-twitter-
account/)
Impartiality And Independence
Guideline: Remain unbiased in every aspect.
As a journalist, you serve the public, and your opinion is not part of the story. The same approach applies
to social media. Follow all sides of any issue: political, sports, etc. Gather information from all sides of a
story and present it to your audience. Allow the audience to process the information and form their own
opinions based on the facts they’re given. Refrain from using trending terms or hashtags that could imply
endorsement.

27

We are not the story. The story is the individuals who are there. We’re here to share that story, and we
should take ourselves out of it as much as possible. – Newsroom Manager
Empathy
Guideline: Minimize potential harm to others.
At all times be respectful and courteous to the community or individual you’re reporting on. Show
compassion for those who may be impacted by the stories you report. Consider the sensitivity of certain
topics.
The whole point of social media is to have an engagement with another human being. – Newsroom
Manager
Creativity
Guideline: Try new things.
Social media is alive and always changing. As new techniques, tools, applications and platforms emerge,
incorporate them into your social media usage as you see fit. Creativity is contagious.
Nothing is off the table. I'm open to anything students want to try with social media. – Newsroom
Manager
For examples of exemplary social media use, please join the social channel (“social channel” will
hyperlink to the slack social channel https://ufinc.slack.com/messages/social-media/details/) on Slack.
Learn more about using Facebook in the INC.*
Learn more about using Instagram in the INC.*
Learn more about using Snapchat in the INC.*
Learn more about using Twitter in the INC.**
*Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat will hyperlink to Caitlin’s guidelines pending creation/approval.
** Twitter will hyperlink to Kelly’s guidelines.
Download a printable version. (“printable version” will hyperlink to a condensed PDF of the above
document)
Revised on April 3, 2016 by Daniel Moran
Figure 1: Social Media Guideline posted on INC intranet
The following section is the guideline for the newly created Slack channel for social
media. During the interviews with students, a common issue addressed was uncertainty on how

28

to use social media, i.e. What was acceptable? What were they allowed to do? A common aspect
newsroom managers wanted to include in the social media document were visuals and examples.
These two things were combined in the resulting Slack channel.
While screenshots of successful social media posts included on the intranet are helpful,
they eventually become dated if not updated. The benefit of the Slack channel is that the
successful social media posts will constantly evolve as the platforms evolve or new ones are
introduced.
The structure of the system encourages newsroom managers and advanced editing
students to share successful social media posts in the channel, as defined in the document, when
they see them. Advanced editing students are involved because they work closely with the
official WUFT social media accounts. Their involvement also takes the workload off the
newsroom managers and it becomes an added duty to their daily shifts within the INC. It also
ensures that content is consistently posted in the channel.
The following guideline offers an understanding of what a successful social media post
contains. A successful social media post creatively uses the tools of the social media platform to
relay a message and/or is well received by the platform’s audience as measured by link clicks,
retweets, shares, likes, etc.
The guideline instructs the newsroom manager or advanced editing student to post the
hyperlink to the successful social media post along with a screenshot. This is more beneficial
than just posting a screenshot because the numbers may increase after being posted in the Slack
channel. The hyperlink allows the user to see the most up-to-date engagement numbers.

29

The guideline also includes information on what to include in order to explain why the
post was successful. This includes statistical information such as how many link clicks, likes,
retweets, comments, replies, etc., the post had received at the time of the Slack post.
I also included six samples of how to share social posts in the guideline. This alleviates
any confusion on how posts should be shared and what information to include.
The collection of posts on Slack eventually becomes an archive of the best social media
practices in the newsroom. Future students could refer to this archive to understand what has
worked well in the past on social media and use it as a starting point to create their own posts.
Social Media Slack Guideline
This channel is dedicated to highlighting exemplary social media posts made by official INC accounts or
by students reporting stories using their personal accounts.
Newsroom managers and advanced editing (JOU 4202) students will use this channel to showcase social
media posts from radio, sports, TV and web that have either performed well or were constructed
creatively.
Newsroom managers and advanced editing students are encouraged to share a successful social media
post, as defined below, in this channel whenever they occur. If a post has not been shared within seven
days, it is the requirement of the advanced editing student on duty to look back through the social media
posts of the past week and identify at least one successful post to share within the channel.
A successful social media post creatively uses the tools of the social media platform to relay a message
and/or is well received by the platform’s audience as measured by link clicks, retweets, shares, likes, etc.
When sharing a successful social media post, include the following:
Direct link to the post
Name of student/manager who created the post when applicable
Notable statistics of the post (number of link clicks, likes, shares, retweets, comments, replies)
Brief explanation of why the post was successful
A screenshot of the post in its native environment (e.g. if on Instagram or Snapchat, make the screen
capture on your phone)
Want to improve your social media posts to be included in our success stories? Review the INC’s social
media guidelines: (hyperlink to social media guidelines).
Examples of how to share social media posts in the social channel:

30

https://twitter.com/WUFTNews/status/701877908277596160
Julia Nevins created this post and it caught the attention of NPR, which retweeted it. As of March 1,
2016, this tweet earned the web story 520 link clicks. The tweet itself received 41 likes and 18 retweets.
Sometimes being cute but straightforward pays off!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BB5t0O2RQ2A/
This Instagram photo was taken by Tamara Dobry. Notice the excellent framing of the photo to capture
the lighting from the bridge during sunset. Also note the incorporation of hashtags not just after the
attribution, but in the caption itself.
https://twitter.com/StephanieEByrne/status/692791174055227392
This tweet was created by Stephanie Byrne. While it did not receive a high number of retweets/likes, it’s
an excellent use of video on Twitter to tease an upcoming TV story. When teasing a TV segment,
remember to say “tune into Florida’s First at 5” or “tune into Florida’s 5” depending on characters.
https://twitter.com/WUFTNews/status/690291681036517376
This tweet is a link to a video that is not directly ours, but still within our coverage area. To make the
tweet more original, Ethan Magoc created a GIF from the video to make our tweet stand out and be more
interesting. As of March 1, 2016, the tweet gained 45 link clicks, 40 likes and 22 retweets.
https://www.facebook.com/wuftnews/posts/575224325976810
This Facebook post was made by Caitlin Franz immediately after final election results were received and
the story was published. As of March 17, 2016, the post has 313 reactions, and 370 link clicks to the
story. When something is breaking news, like the results of the election, it’s important to get it up on
social media as soon as the information is approved or published.
https://twitter.com/SportsDarwinism/status/702242038771793920
Darwin Patterson tweeted this and it gained a decent number of 6 retweets and 6 likes. Notice the perfect
incorporation of identifying and tagging The Harlem Globetrotters as well as including @GainesvillePD.
Remember if you need to save characters when including a photo in a tweet, tag @WUFTNews in the
photo instead of including @WUFTNews in the tweet itself. When adding a photo on Twitter, it asks you
“who’s in this photo.” If you say @WUFTNews is in the photo, we will receive a notification for it the
same way we would if you tagged us in the text of the tweet.
Figure 2: Social Media Slack Guideline pinned on INC social media Slack channel

Discussion
The qualitative interviews with managers and students were very insightful into what was
occurring in the newsroom.

31

Some interviews with newsroom managers were more helpful than others. Some
managers encouraged or required social media use heavily and were very passionate about their
students incorporating social media into their reporting. It was interesting that others knew less
about what their students were doing on social media.
It seems that newsroom managers need to get on the same level when social media is
concerned. Perhaps an annual meeting about social media use by students could be beneficial.
These meetings could include stressing the importance of social media, where managers can give
brief reports on how they are successfully incorporating social media or failing to do so.
Managers could discuss ways to improve social media use by offering tips based on their
successful experiences, or things to avoid based on failures.
Upon completion of this project, it was brought to my attention that not every single
student has access to the full features of Slack, meaning not every student could access the social
media Slack channel. All students are not given full access due to the costs involved.
Slack allows you to add five single-channel guests per paid member of your team. The
newsroom uses this single-access ability to give all students in the INC access to the “pitch”
channel. Students can access this one channel for free, in association with the price of the paid
members of the team, but giving these students access to more channels comes at an additional
cost. More advanced students, or students who are most involved in the newsroom, are given
larger access.
Due to this, my initial reaction was to conclude that the project was not a success. I
discussed this with the supervisor of the newsroom and there is a possibility to increase the
access to more features of Slack if funding is available. If funding is not available, Slackbots can
be created or the same structure of the Slack guideline can be applied to the intranet. Instead of

32

posting the successful social media posts on Slack, they would be embedded on the intranet as
originally planned for this project. This is the backup plan if funding is not available to increase
access to Slack. It is not ideal, and the newsroom managers directly involved agreed that they
would prefer it be on Slack, but the intranet is an acceptable alternative.
One misstep was not reaching out to universities with programs similar to ours. In my
research, I could not find a university with a newsroom that closely resembled ours.
Understanding how these newsrooms incorporate and manage social media could have been
helpful in developing the project.
In addition to this, it would have been helpful to interview social media managers for
news organizations at the local and national level. I could have explained to them the structure of
our newsroom and the lack of a direct social media manager. I could have then asked how they
manage social media and asked for their ideas on how to organize and facilitate social media in
the INC.
A common finding in interviews was that social media is a 24-hour job. A full-time social
media manager needs to be added to the roster of newsroom managers, or the full duties need to
be adopted by a current newsroom manager, in order to ensure proper social media use by the
newsroom. This includes ensuring content is posted consistently, monitoring interactions from
users, and supervising students’ social media use.
The documents and the Slack channel I developed help ease some confusion, but nothing
could benefit the INC more than a full-time social media manager. Until that moment comes, I
created a list of the top 10 suggestions to improve social media use in the INC based on my
research and two years of experience in the newsroom.

33

1. Encourage faculty to incorporate social media use into classes before students enter the
INC. It can be tied together with assignments that are already planned to give students an
idea of how to approach social media as a student journalist.
2. Have a brief social media training session for new students at the beginning of each
semester. Invite students at higher levels to attend these sessions if they feel they need
improvement. Show students exactly where the social media guidelines are on the
intranet. Many don’t know a version already exists.
3. Explain to students that we will not share a social media post made on their personal
accounts if their accounts are not professional and unbiased. During election coverage,
we had one student sending us tweets from a candidate’s party. After looking at the
account, I noticed the header photo was a sign that said “I don’t know, anyone but Trump
though.” We sent them a message that we could not share anything they sent us unless
the photo was changed.
4. Invite students to have a social media check-in halfway through the semester. This could
be led by an advanced editing student and it could either be voluntary or mandated. The
check-in could involve reviewing their account and previous tweets to offer critiques and
guidance for further use as a student journalist.
5. Acknowledge and praise excellent social media use, both in person and in the social
media Slack channel.
6. Acknowledge and praise excellent social media use to newsroom managers. In case they
aren’t reviewing the social media Slack channel, share with them the successful social
media posts that are drawing eyes to their students’ content.

34

7. Privately critique a student when a social media post is made incorrectly or
inappropriately. Explain in detail what was wrong about the post and give them ideas on
how it could have been written better or could be written better in the future. I’ve seen
students critiqued publicly and it did not always produce the results expected.
8. For Twitter, encourage students to follow our account for direct messaging purposes. I
changed our settings so that anyone can send us a direct message and we do not have to
be following them. That way critiques or messages can be sent quickly.
9. Do not follow our students. It creates a weird expectation among students that they all
should be followed by our account. Instead, use the “lists” feature on Twitter to collect
students’ accounts into a list to be monitored. Students will not stay in our newsroom for
the duration of their journalism career, so there’s no need to follow them.
10. Encourage newsroom managers to stay in the loop of social media. This includes
following and paying attention to our official accounts, our students accounts, local
competitors, and leaders in the industry. Social media is constantly evolving, and it’s
helpful if managers are aware of what’s happening.

35

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October 19, 2015 from https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2009/10/13/guidelines-for-
guidelines-social-media-policies-spark-debate/
Wasike, B. S. (2013). Framing news in 140 characters: How social media editors frame the news
and interact with audiences via twitter. Global Media Journal, 6(1), 5. Accessed
September 14, 2015 from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1398444355?accountid=10920
Weil, K. (2015). Introducing Periscope. Twitter. Accessed September 22, 2015 from
https://blog.twitter.com/2015/introducing-periscope
Wenger, D. H., & Owens, L. C. (2012). Help Wanted 2010: An Examination of New Media
Skills Required by Top U.S. News Companies. Journalism & Mass Communication
Educator, 67(1), 9–25.
Williams, E. (2009). “What is Twitter?” Social Media Oracle. Accessed September 14, 2015
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http://www.wuft.org/newsroom/wuft-news-code-of-ethics/

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Appendix A: IRB Documents
Informed Consent (Newsroom Manager)
Protocol Title
A Blanket for Social Media
Please read this consent document carefully before you decide to participate in this study.
Purpose of the research study
The purpose of this study is to understand if and how newsroom managers within the University of
Florida College of Journalism’s Innovation News Center incorporate journalism ethics into their teaching
approaches. This study will also help understand to what extent the newsroom managers encourage their
students to use social media in relation to their coursework. Additionally, this study will help understand
initial issues and problems students encounter while working within the University of Florida College of
Journalism’s Innovation News Center.
What you will be asked to do in the study
As a newsroom manager within the University of Florida College of Journalism’s Innovation News
Center, you will be asked to reflect on how you incorporate elements of the journalism code of ethics in
your curriculum and to what extent you encourage students to use social media in relation to their
coursework and the successes and problems you’ve seen with their usage.
Time required
1 hour
Risks and Benefits
We do not anticipate that you will benefit directly or experience any risks by participating in this
interview.
Compensation
No compensation will be provided for participation.
Confidentiality
The interview will be audio recorded and later transcribed. The recording and transcription will be deleted
at the completion of the study this year. Your identity will be kept confidential to the extent provided by

40

law. Your name will not be used in publication in relation to your interview. Your responses to these
questions will not be shared with other newsroom managers or students.
Voluntary participation
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There is no penalty for not participating.
Right to withdraw from the study
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You do not have to answer any question you do
not wish to answer. You can withdraw without penalty at any time and none of your data will be used in
the study.
Who to contact if you have questions about the study
Kenneth Moran, Graduate Student, University of Florida, College of JM/COM, 1885 Stadium Road, PO
Box 118400, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, dmoran@ufl.edu
Mindy McAdams, Professor - Department of Journalism, University of Florida, College of JM/COM,
1885 Stadium Road, PO Box 118400, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, mmcadams@jou.ufl.edu
Who to contact about your rights as a research participant in the study
IRB02 Office
Box 112250
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
phone 392-0433.
Agreement
I have read the procedure described above. I voluntarily agree to participate in the procedure and I
have received a copy of this description.
Participant: ___________________________________________ Date: _____________
Principal Investigator: ___________________________________ Date: _____________
Informed Consent (Student)
Protocol Title

41

A Blanket for Social Media
Please read this consent document carefully before you decide to participate in this study.
Purpose of the research study
The purpose of this study is to understand if and how newsroom managers within the University of
Florida College of Journalism’s Innovation News Center incorporate journalism ethics into their teaching
approaches. This study will also help understand to what extent the newsroom managers encourage their
students to use social media in relation to their coursework. Additionally, this study will help understand
initial issues and problems students encounter while working within the University of Florida College of
Journalism’s Innovation News Center.
What you will be asked to do in the study
As a student within the University of Florida College of Journalism’s Innovation News Center, you will
be asked to reflect on your usage of social media in relation to your coursework within the newsroom.
Additionally, you will be asked to reflect on any initial issues you encountered and questions you may
have had when you first started using social media in relation to your coursework within the newsroom.
Time required
1 hour
Risks and Benefits
We do not anticipate that you will benefit directly or experience any risks by participating in this
interview.
Compensation
No compensation will be provided for participation.
Confidentiality
The interview will be audio recorded and later transcribed. The recording and transcription will be deleted
at the completion of the study this year. Your identity will be kept confidential to the extent provided by
law. Your name will not be used in publication in relation to your interview. Your responses to these
questions will not be shared with other newsroom managers or students.
Voluntary participation
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There is no penalty for not participating.

42

Right to withdraw from the study
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You do not have to answer any question you do
not wish to answer. You can withdraw without penalty at any time and none of your data will be used in
the study.
Who to contact if you have questions about the study
Kenneth Moran, Graduate Student, University of Florida, College of JM/COM, 1885 Stadium Road, PO
Box 118400, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, dmoran@ufl.edu
Mindy McAdams, Professor - Department of Journalism, University of Florida, College of JM/COM,
1885 Stadium Road, PO Box 118400, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, mmcadams@jou.ufl.edu
Who to contact about your rights as a research participant in the study
IRB02 Office
Box 112250
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250
phone 392-0433.
Agreement
I have read the procedure described above. I voluntarily agree to participate in the procedure and I
have received a copy of this description.
Participant: ___________________________________________ Date: _____________
Principal Investigator: ___________________________________ Date: _____________
Semi-structured interview guide. (Newsoom Manager)
1. What ethical elements of journalism do you find most important for your students to follow in
relation to social media?
2. Do you have concerns about unethical uses of social media by students?
3. Do you encourage or require students to utilize social media platforms in relation to the stories
they are reporting?

43

5. What do you instruct students to do when using these platforms? Do you give them a handout or
assign materials to read in relation to social media use?
6. If yes, may I have a copy of the handout or assigned materials?
7. What do you expect students to produce on social media platforms?
8. What do you hope students learn from using these platforms?
9. What are some of the most common problems that you’ve noticed with student social media
postings? Common errors/mistakes? Liabilities?
10. What’s gone wrong?
11. What’s gone right?
12. What did you think they understood about proper social media use that they apparently didn’t?
13. What would you want a social media guidelines document presented to students on their first day
working in the INC to include?
14. What do you think is the most serious mistake made by students using social media in
connection with the INC or their classes?
Semi-structured interview guide. (Student)
1. Do you use a social media account in relation to your coursework within the newsroom?
2. Do you use your personal account or operate an official newsroom account?
4. Were you encouraged by your instructor to use these platforms?
5. If yes, what instructions did they offer to you?
6. Did they give you a handout, or offer any links or other written instructions on how to approach
social media in the newsroom?
7. What issues, if any, have you encountered when using a social media account in relation to your
coursework within the newsroom?

44

8. What questions did you have when you first started using a social media account in relation to
your coursework within the newsroom?

45

Appendix B: Condensed Printable Version of “Social Media”
Social Media
Social media is an invaluable tool for a journalist to enhance content. It offers an additional platform for
finding stories and sources, and a way to broadcast your finished story to a larger audience. Approach
social media as you would approach the journalism platform you’re reporting for in the INC.
Just because we are a student experience doesn’t mean we aren’t held to the same standards as anybody
else. – Newsroom Manager
Using Social Media As A Reporter
Guideline: Approach social media as you would approach all of your journalism work.
You know how to use social media in your personal life, but now you must apply what you’ve learned
from your courses to use social media as a journalist.
Be interactive and give the audience something to chew on, otherwise they are going to keep scrolling. –
Newsroom Manager
Guideline: Present yourself professionally, even when off the clock.
As a student journalist, you are working towards being a professional journalist. To create a more
authentic digital self-image, journalists often approach their accounts with a mixture of humor,
information, and personal tidbits.
Guideline: Find inspiration from professional journalists.
Follow journalists on social media and notice how they present information on different social platforms.
Deduce the best practices that work for how you want to present yourself.
The innovators and leaders of the industry are trying new things differently. Expose yourself to
professional journalists who use social media successfully and emulate some of those best practices. –
Newsroom Manager
Accuracy And Transparency
Guideline: First and foremost, be accurate.
Be skeptical of the information you encounter on social media, just as you’re skeptical of the information
you discover while reporting.
Everyone wants to be first, but not everyone wants to be accurate. We always want to be accurate. –
Newsroom Manager
Guideline: Quadruple check your work.

46

On social media, an editor or newsroom manager isn’t looking over your shoulder to approve what you’re
writing. Look it over closely. Read it aloud.
Grammar Nazis on the Internet will immediately discount the best news in the world if they think you
misplaced a comma. It’s petty and it’s weird, but it’s important. – Newsroom Manager
Guideline: Verify any form of media you receive.
With technology, it’s easy to manipulate photos, videos and audio recordings. Use reverse search engines
like Vechos to find where photos and video appear on the web.
Guideline: Acknowledge mistakes.
On social media, mistakes are instant. Instead of deleting an error, identify the inaccuracy and update the
audience with the correct information.
Honesty
Guideline: Seek truth and report it.
Millions of individuals seeking information turn to social media for quick, efficient, and reliable
information. You must in turn be quick, efficient, and reliable.
Guideline: Sources must be reliable.
As it would apply to a face-to-face interview, all online sources must be on-the-record. Just because the
source is on-the-record online doesn’t mean they’re validated. Use social media as a starting point and
follow up with further investigation or a phone call to verify a person’s identity and information. Be
aware of false identification.
Impartiality And Independence
Guideline: Remain unbiased in every aspect.
As a journalist, you serve the public, and your opinion is not part of the story. Follow all sides of a issue
and gather information from all sides of a story and present it to your audience. Allow the audience to
process the information and form their own opinions.
We are not the story. The story is the individuals who are there. We’re here to share that story, and we
should take ourselves out of it as much as possible. – Newsroom Manager
Empathy
Guideline: Minimize potential harm to others.
At all times be respectful and courteous to the community or individual you’re reporting on. Show
compassion for those who may be impacted by the stories you report.

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The whole point of social media is to have an engagement with another human being. – Newsroom
Manager
Creativity
Guideline: Try new things.
Social media is alive and always changing. As new techniques, tools, applications and platforms emerge,
incorporate them into your social media usage as you see fit. Creativity is contagious.
Nothing is off the table. I'm open to anything students want to try with social media. – Newsroom
Manager
View this full document with helpful links on the INC’s intranet under the “INC and you” tab. For
examples of exemplary social media use, please join the social-media channel on Slack.

Social Media Guidelines for INC Journalists

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