This has been an easy guideline to follow when reporting on stories. Journalists go to work and do their job without expressing opinion, go home and enjoy their personal life. They’re free to express their personal opinions at home.

However, in this recent evolution of social media, private and public lives are becoming intertwined. Recently, Washington Post shut down their Managing Editor’s Twitter account because of the views tweeted about the health care system. Then they created new social media guidelines to all employees saying what they can and can not do while working for them.

They even say that they can’t post their opinions on Facebook and comments left on their wall by friends should be deleted if they state a one-sided opinion. They are being told to be Washington Post representatives 24 hours/7 days a week. Is this going too far?

It sounds like it’s crossing the line. Everybody needs a personal life without work interfering, including journalists. The public should be smart enough to know that when they see a journalist reporting a story on T.V. that their story is unbiased whereas if they look at a journalist’s personal Twitter account, that it is their personal opinions.

Social media has been a wonderful for people to have a voice in a way that have never been seen in the past. The line of social media and unbiased journalism is blurred in the industry and causes a chilling effect which is not cool.

What do you think? Do you think journalists should be allowed to express whatever they want on their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts? Or do their bosses have the right to stop this freedom of expression?

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Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/should-journalists-have-their-twitter-and-facebook-monitored-by-their-bosses-1448419.html