NBC O&O policy governs employees’ social media postings

Employees of the 10 NBCUniversal owned and operated stations have been operating under strict social media policies for the past year or so, reports TVNewsCheck.

The policy prohibits employees from posting “anything that compromises the integrity and objectivity of you or NBCUniversal” to social media accounts, including personal, non-NBC ones.

“We certainly had the same standards before Twitter and Facebook,” Kevin Keeshan, ombudsman for the station group told TVNewsCheck. Keeshan added that the policy, which is taught as part of staff training, sends the same message that newsmen and women have heard for years: “You’re a journalist. Act as if you’re a journalist. This is a vocation, not just a job.”

The policy also covers sharing or resharing content generated by other parties. If information is not solid enough include in a newscast, it shouldn’t be distributed via social media either, Keeshan says.

Read more about the policy and what some industry watchers have to say about it in the TVNewsCheck article.