(Gasp) I can’t believe he just posted that!

Journalists from all over recently got to see the social media policy for NBC owned stations. Immediately after an article on TVNewsCheck was posted outlining the policies, journalists and legal experts began tweeting, many calling the policy ridiculous. No doubt, it is strict. According to the article, you have to state that you are an employee of NBC Universal on every social media site you use, even private ones. You also have to get approval from management if you want to express an opinion about any issue, on any of your sites. Yes, this includes personal accounts. Any facts should be verified before retweeting someone else’s comments. All of these points are worth discussion. There’s already plenty of talk about it online. But one part really struck me. An ombudsman for the station group stated that when posting online, there is a tendency to “be more flip.” Anything you post, you should also be ready to broadcast. His statement is a reminder that what you say or do online is out there for everyone to see. It reminds me of what a couple of mentors used to say, “If you do the news, you don’t get the option to be truly anonymous.”

That advice is certainly true, and as Chef Emeril Lagasse would say, “Let’s kick it up another notch!” What you say online can be seen by more people, than things you say even out in public. Over the last year I have watched many journalists make comments online that surprise me. I saw a tweet from a reporter claiming a company she hired for a home repair “stinks” and is a “rip off.” She named the company, then stated you should never hire this company. A producer tweeted about a story in one of the station’s newscasts, stating that he doubted a business owner’s claims that a piece of equipment that failed had recently been inspected and passed. An anchor posted video on Facebook of another anchor shooting the bird and chiding her. A photojournalist mentioned on Facebook that he thought someone accused of a crime was “guilty as hell” weeks before the trial even started. The list goes on and on. And in many of those cases, their Twitter accounts specified exactly where they worked. Like it or not, that means their comments could be construed as speaking on behalf of those companies.

We all have a right to opinions. We all have a right to blow off steam. We all have a right to talk with our friends about things we love and things that bug us. But participating in social media is more public than going to a restaurant or bar and living it up one night. There is a far greater chance of getting caught doing something your station will not approve of. Yes, again some of these social media policies are overly harsh, and possibly would not ”hold up.” But consider your paycheck, do you want to try and fight it? I can read all kinds of articles on why these social media policies are ridiculous, but is enough written about how to gauge your influence on social media as a journalist?

Let’s spell it out. Your comments on social media are published representations of you. Do not forget, with each post, you are potentially giving a worldwide audience access. If you have a bad day and go off, those comments could come back to bite. That can be the case even if you do a mea culpa, and even if you delete the post realizing you temporarily lost your mind and did something pretty stupid. As journalists we understand how permanent publishing something truly is. Yet, so many journalists are posting things online that we would not dare write down on paper. By typing your thoughts out, instead of just speaking them, you create a permanent record. It is much harder to pull off a “he said, she said” type of defense. If you ever are sued, how you act on social media accounts could be brought up to question your credibility.

The point here is not to preach, but to protect. Social media is such an incredible opportunity for journalists to connect with their audience and each other. Let common sense prevail. That way it won’t matter if your station’s social media policy is strict. You will always showcase yourself in a positive, proactive and professional light.

Charting the new frontier: Some points of reference when exploring social media.

For the past year I have noticed more “buzz” about journalists’ potential pitfalls when using social media, especially when it comes to liability risk, whether your station could claim your personal sites actually have professional implications, and if you have copyright or trademark rights to the material you post. This leads to debates about whether to use your actual name on a personal account, say what station you work for, even list your job title. You need to be very careful when using anything that could potentially be claimed as “station owned.” If you state on your personal account that you are a journalist and work at a particular station, you could run into issues. Some could argue you are still acting as a representative for that station. Agents are starting to promote that they can guide journalists on what to do to keep the boss from giving you trouble over what you say and do online. Broadcasting and newspaper companies are coming up with social media policies for journalists (see this public list). One interesting lawsuit is raising issues about who should get access to journalists’ social media accounts, including followers. The case involves a former editor’s Twitter account with Phonedog. (Here are two interesting articles for background. First from USA Today titled “Ex-employee sued over keeping Twitter account”, and Knight Digital Media Center blog’s analysis “Lawsuit to watch: Who owns journalist’s social media accounts?”). This is just the beginning. We journalists have no real precedent to lean on to keep ourselves out of hot water. Meanwhile, media companies are urging us to get online, in many cases daily, with blogs, FB pages and Twitter accounts. Then there’s the crucial need to network and market ourselves personally. Finally, you can gather a lot of news and source build online. It’s easy and effective: But at what potential cost? Not only is using social media a type of “print” it can be seen by far more sources than you may realize and basic codes of ethics may not always work. If all of this seems overwhelming and a little scary, you are not alone. Recently I, Beth Johnson, the founder of Survivetvnewsjobs.com, have started collaborating with a prominent first amendment and media law attorney, Cynthia Counts (Here’s a list of high profile cases she’s been involved with and her appearances on TV), to discuss what legal risks journalists face when using social media. Our conversations are fascinating. Bottom line, a lot is up in the air. Journalists are charting a new frontier without a map. That’s why we are committed to bringing you a series of articles to help wade through. Consider this article a cornerstone for what is to come. We begin by showing you the basic things you need to consider when using social media for personal reasons.

Read and understand “terms of use” policies
Know that trademark, copyright, privacy and libel laws do apply
Consider what statements of opinion are, since they could subject you to liability
Be sure you clearly define your relationship to each audience

First, here are some links you need to bookmark: Twitter’s terms of service , trademark and copyright policies. For Facebook, see the pages terms, statement of rights, trademark policy and copyright policy. Why so many links? These connect you to the legal terms you are agreeing to each time you post on the site. Counts says not only is it important to look at who has the rights to your posts, but also whether social media sites are given a license to display your tweets and posts simply because you use the site. With that in mind, these policies can be quite interesting. For example, under Twitter’s Terms of Service, section 5, “Your Rights” it states: “You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).” Then Twitter helps you out, by offering this highlighted tip, “This license is you authorizing us to make your Tweets available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same.”

Could this cause serious implications for you? Consider retweets. The Twitter policy states“You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you provide, and for any consequences thereof, including the use of your Content by other users and our third party partners. You understand that your Content may be syndicated, broadcast, distributed, or published by our partners and if you do not have the right to submit Content for such use, it may subject you to liability… You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content that you submit.” The takeaway here, according to Counts, is because you are technically publishing information with your Twitter account, you need to consider personal liability. Generally, journalists can be held liable for any statements they repeat, even if they are simply quoting a source. The Communications Decency Act, however, likely provides an exception for retweets of content created by a third party. But if you ever modify someone’s tweets and end up changing the meaning, or modify to add your opinion, you could potentially put yourself at risk of liability. (We will delve more into potential risks and defenses to protect you in another article.). Now Facebook: First, you need to be very clear that you are not infringing on copyrights. FB has access to your stuff, so more people can see your content than you may realize. This is explained in FB’s Statement of Rights section 2, Sharing Your Content and Information, “You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition: For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.” Importantly, if you make a fact error and erase it, a third party, possibly not even directly connected with you on FB could still gain access to that printed mistake. This section delves more into how far-reaching your content can go, beyond your control: “When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).” So FB can distribute your content all over the place, and you are liable if there’s a problem. Because FB has widespread reach, the potential damages if there is a copyright or liability problem can be greater.

Twitter and Facebook also have copyright and trademark policies. Both make mention of potential copyright issues with photos. Think about your personal social media accounts. Do you use any kind of headshot? Do you have the station and/or photographer’s permission? Many people use their station’s call letters in their profiles on their various social media accounts. Could these references lead to trademark issues? Let’s delve into that idea a bit more.

Counts says where you work is a statement of fact. Your job description is as well. So, using them in your profiles are not copyright or trademark issues. But, she says you need to look at the user agreements. When you do, statement of fact is not as clear cut of an argument. For example: Twitter goes so far as to spell out how to set up an account that is more personal in nature in its Trademark Policy: “ An account’s profile information should make it clear that the account is not actually the company or business entity that is the subject of the news feed/commentary/fan account. Here are some suggestions for distinguishing your account:

Username: The username should not be the trademarked name of the subject of the news feed, commentary, or fan account.

Name: The profile name should not be the trademarked name of the company or include the trademarked name in a misleading manner.

Bio: The bio should include a statement to distinguish it from the real company, such as “Unofficial Account,” “Fan Account,” or “Not affiliated with…”

Background image / Avatar: The account should not use another’s trademark, logo or other copyright-protected image without express permission.

Communication with other users: The account should not, through private or public communication with other users, try to deceive or mislead others about your identity.

How about Facebook? It allows companies to register trademarks to protect themselves. Again, in its Facebook Pages Terms, FB recommends having express permission to use logos and/or photographs because of possible copyright infringement: “All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines.” In other words, do not use head shots taken by your station unless you have a written license saying you are allowed to publish these images for your personal use.

So, it may not be a trademark or copyright issue to use your station’s call letters, but Twitter and FB’s written policies certainly seem to muddy the water a bit. Really look over Twitter and Facebook’s policies to make sure any references to or use of material from the station complies. Also read up on what recently happened between Barrett Tryon, a multimedia journalist formerly with the Colorado Springs Gazette, and the newspaper’s parent company, Freedom Communications. Tryon posted a link on his Facebook timeline to a Los Angeles Times article about the sale of Freedom Communications. Tryon says the, Gazette told him to remove the post on his personal FB page, citing the station’s social media policy. This article on JimRomenesko.com shows the post by Tryon. If you want to see Freedom Communications’ social media policy, check out this article from Poynter, “New social media rules for Freedom Communications staff.” (This case is far from clear cut and raises a lot of other issues about journalist’s rights that we also will delve more into.) Tryon ended up resigning and explains why in this article by American Journalism Review.

If this case makes you wonder about your own personal account, here are some key points Counts suggests you consider.

Understand your employer’s social media policy (whether those policies are fair or could stand up in court, like the ongoing debate over the Colorado Springs Gazette’s actions, is another matter we will look into this more later.)
Limit followers to close friends and families, ideally not connected to your work in any way. You may even want to consider using a different name.
Refrain from making comments about your work and focus on personal things, instead.
Remember that deleting content may not be enough to remove it from cyberspace if other users have not deleted it as well.

The point is you don’t want your employer to be able to argue you were acting as an agent for the station on that particular account. By focusing on personal things when you post, limiting followers and avoiding talking about your station or showing images from your station, you are creating relationships with followers that clearly show the people who visit your social media accounts do so to stay in touch with you. They are not following you to monitor your work at the station. Following these tips should help you keep your personal life truly personal in the social media world with little risk of your employer trying to use what you say or do against you.

Now you have some reference points as you dive into this new frontier. Experts in the law including Attorney Cynthia Counts and I will continue adding to your map as we all chart this largely unclaimed new world. In fact, there is a new section on Survivetvnewsjobs.com called “Social Media Awareness” to inform you of cases, potential pitfalls and defenses to protect you. Stay tuned!

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Cynthia Counts is the founder of the Counts Law Group. She has a well-regarded first amendment practice and represents numerous print media and broadcast clients. Her areas of expertise include libel, privacy, contracts, product liability, and employment discrimination.

How to work around your bosses weaknesses

No one is perfect. That can be hard to deal with when relating to the boss, especially when you have to make up for that person’s weaknesses every day. But there are ways around some tendencies that can make the working relationship easier to take. Let’s delve into some common weaknesses and talk work arounds.

Boss #1: Easily overwhelmed

One of the most frustrating things to deal with is the boss that’s easily overwhelmed. Frankly, working in TV news is overwhelming all the time. Then, to cap it off, you get a boss that’s not cutting it. The best thing you can do is avoid running to this person with your own issues, unless they are crucial for the newscast. Basically, this is not the boss to brainstorm with if you hit a dead end and need to go in a new direction on a story. This is not the manager to talk with about rundown scenarios. When breaking news hits, this is not the manager you ask for help if you are in the weeds. You come to this person with legal questions and potential liability issues. Otherwise, you need to call an assignment editor or producer first and ask if the person is slamming before you talk any other scenarios. No sense in calling and getting yelled at and told to figure it out when this person is at maximum capacity. If you are really in a bind call a manager that tends to be less busy that time of day. Just explain that the person you usually call is slamming. The two managers can hash it out later. At least you can get your work done in peace.

Boss #2: Panic monger

The panic monger is another interesting manager to deal with. Over time I learned that this is not the same as the easily overwhelmed type. This person lives on the adrenaline rush of panicking constantly. This is the manager you call when you need to get a piece edited, fed in or to legal and it’s not happening in a timely manner. This person will take on the request then annoy the hell out of whomever necessary to get it done. This is a good thing, unless you are the one “slacking” over what needs to get done. If you are getting barraged with calls the best thing to do is give the panic monger something tangible to hold onto. “I can get you that in 30 minutes.” Or perhaps: “I have 5 more calls to make before I can answer your question.” This usually helps the panic monger calm down a bit, so you can actually get the task done. Another option is to have the panic monger help you with the task. Sometimes I would say: “I am too slammed to answer that right now, but if you want to help me get the c block written quickly, I can make that my next priority.” Often the panic monger will dive in, because he/she desperately wants their task handled.

Boss #3: Super moody

Ah, pick a mood any mood. Two big things to keep in mind: Moods change and there often is a pattern or trigger that sets the moods off. Once you understand the mood will change, it is easier to blow it off when you are snapped at or given a lecture seemingly out of left field. Just sit through it then move on. See if the sentiment is repeated when Mr. or Ms. “Super Moody” is calmer. Then it’s clear you need to take notice.

Stop and think about it. Do you get chewed out or lectured at the same time every day? Is it only on Tuesday’s right after management meetings? Often you are just the whipping post. Take the lecture with a grain of salt, wait until the person is calmer then ask for a follow up conversation to make sure you are clear on what the manager needs from you. Time and time again, I had moody managers say: “I said that? No, you are fine.” While annoying, at least I knew for sure I was not in trouble or not performing to expectation.

Boss #4: Hot tempered

Some managers are more than moody. They are hot tempered and need anger management. Screamers, belittlers, bullies: No fun! Screamers, unfortunately, are common in this industry. (Check out Stop the Screaming for more on how to handle that lovely personality trait.) As for the be-littler and bully types, I had the best luck standing up to them. I would try one on one first. If that did not work, then I stood up for myself in front of a small group. Yes, this is a bit risky but if you can’t take their crap anymore it can be worth it. Bullies fear being bullied and they usually back down.

Boss #5: The Delegator

This trait can be the most maddening of all. You have all kinds of work to do, then get half of the boss’ job handed to you too! He/she delegates to you, so you then delegate to someone else. When the manager asks what’s up with “XYZ?” tell them to ask so and so. When the manager says I assigned it to you, say “I had responsibilities directly tied to my position that I had to take care of first, so I made sure your work was handled as well.” In other words turn the tables a bit. This is really crucial if you are a very responsible and efficient worker. If you suck it up and do all your work plus this boss’s extras you will end up burned out and very resentful. At some point all of us reach our limit, and this boss will take you to the point of no return if you don’t nip the delegating a bit. Delegators take advantage. Just pass the work on, and send the message you are on to the game. If you don’t have anyone to pass the work on to, then do your job first. If there’s time, you can attempt to do some of the delegated work. Don’t get all the delegated work done regularly though, or your work load will permanently increase.

The largest takeaway from all of this though, is that everyone has weaknesses. That includes you and me! Be cognizant of the impact you have on others around you, and try to play to your boss’s strengths, while minimizing the impact of their weaknesses. That should help avoid their weaknesses and maybe even help you keep your own weaknesses under better control.

Sell vs. Surprise: Why there is a difference

I was visiting with an accomplished storyteller recently who was complaining about the producer stealing the surprise in his package. The producer “gave it away” in the anchor intro. Sound familiar? This isn’t the first time frustration over producer’s ruining the story in intro’s has come up. In fact “ Taking ownership from the first line of the anchor intro “was written to urge producers to be cognizant of the whole picture. That said; there is another side. As I spoke with this reporter it struck me. The reporter was confusing the sell with the surprise in his story. I thought back to many heated copy editing sessions where I would try and explain to reporters, over and over, that a certain element had to be in the intro. Often I was dealing with seasoned reporters who consistently crafted compelling pieces.

As this industry continues to push the marketing side of things to maintain and grow audience, understanding the sell of your stories is going to get increasingly important. Producers are being pushed to turn newscasts that look different. Understanding what consultants and managers term “the sell” and “the surprise” in stories is crucial. So let’s define both.

The sell is the reason you are doing the story. It is the reason you think the audience will continue to watch the story instead of change the channel. You need to capture the audience’s attention in the anchor intro so there’s no chance to turn away. That’s why the sell has to get into the anchor intro. Producers will fight you and will win the battle to have the sell in the intro. It cannot be totally saved as the surprise.

The surprise is the part of your story that will leave an imprint on the audience. It is the fact that they will not stop thinking about. It is the irony, the emotional connection, the incredible image, the climax of your story. See the difference?

So why isn’t the sell the same as the surprise? The surprise is the exclamation point. The sell is the subject of the sentence. The sell can allude to the surprise, but isn’t the actual surprise. Here’s an example of how to preserve the sell and the surprise when they are closely linked. Let’s say an amazing artifact was dug up at a construction site in your city. You can say just that in the anchor intro. “Construction workers dug up an amazing artifact today.” The actual artifact can be the surprise. Do not show an image of it in the intro or teases. The fact that it’s something amazing and was dug up is the sell. Strong story tellers will have that little extra, that goes beyond just saying what the artifact is. Remember the surprise is the emotional connection. What if, for example, you have an amazing sound bite that really explains why this artifact is incredible. Maybe someone has been on the hunt for this artifact for years, and can finally see it and tell the viewer why he spent a lifetime looking for it. That may be one of the surprises. Then you can “giveaway” the actual artifact in the anchor intro. You allude to that surprise in the pitch.

Often reporters would get angry that I or my producer wrote that an artifact was found, or possibly list what the artifact was. It was the sell. The story of why a man spent a lifetime trying to find it and the way the construction worker came across the artifact are the surprises in the reporter’s piece.

One final thought. As a reporter you want to make darn sure the anchor intro to your piece is strong enough that the audience is waiting with anticipation for your story. To do, that you have to give away some of the goods to get them to see your hard work. The sell is the no brainer to do that. Use that knowledge to your advantage so the surprises you craft truly wow the viewers.