AP Updates Social Media Policy

In the evolving world of social media guidelines, Associated Press recently refreshed it's official policy for journalists that work directly for the AP.  As we all know, as the AP goes, so go many media outlet's policy.  AdWeek provides an overview here.

Among the interesting shifts are the realization -- to quote an AP staffer: "We see a tweet as publishing."

Thus a lot of focus on how the brand of AP gives credence to information.  The AdWeek story focuses on the Boston bombing and a blog post by the AP's social media editor.

Read the whole updated policy here. Another interest point -- it is growing.  Now seven pages long on the PDF, quite a change from the old days -- 2009, ah the pre-teen years -- when AP's Social Media Guidelines were a single page of Q&A.

Consider -- in four years the instant mode of networked communication grew from cutesie oddity (there is literally a reference to "geek chic" in the 2009 document) to mainstay journalist's tool.  In it, the opening paragraph said "it was OK" for AP journalists to have accounts.

Look no further than the preamble of the 2013 policy:

All AP journalists are encouraged to have accounts on social networks. They

have become an essential tool for AP reporters to gather news and share

links to our published work. We recommend having one account per network

that you use both personally and professionally.