Associated Press Staff Scolded for Tweeting Too Quickly About OWS Arrests..

[Fumesucker]

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/11/ap-staff-scolded-for-tweeting-about-ows-arrests.html

A high importance e-mail went out to Associated Press employees early Wednesday morning to remind them of Twitter rules in the wake of staff arrests at yesterday's local protests. "In relation to AP staff being taken into custody at the Occupy Wall Street story, we’ve had a breakdown in staff sticking to policies around social media and everyone needs to get with their folks now to tell them to knock it off," went one version of the e-mail sent from on high, as obtained by Daily Intel. "We have had staff tweet – BEFORE THE MATERIAL WAS ON THE WIRE – that staff were arrested."

The official rules note, "Don’t break news that we haven’t published, no matter the format." (Reuters spells out the same idea plainly in their handbook: "Don't scoop the wire.") Instead of getting "caught in the moment," the AP's freewheeling tweeters are urged in the e-mail to run "sensitive official AP business" through editors and corporate communications. The AP's social media guidelines were recently updated to insist, "Retweets, like tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day."

As the wire reported — eventually — an AP reporter and a photographer were among at least six journalists arrested at Zuccotti Park yesterday.

[zbdent]

1. "I've been arrested and hit with batons! Ribs may be broken!" - AP reporter tweeting ...

(okay, this is a dramatization of what MIGHT happen) ...

AP reporter fired for reporting the incident before AP "censored" it to read: "AP reporter was mistakenly detained by the police, and was released soon afterward ..."

[joeybee12]

4. Our reporter's ribs rushed at a police man's baton...

Fortunately, the baton escaped serious injury.

[shraby]

2. They just want the opportunity to cover something up. If it's

tweeted first, that takes way that opportunity.

[bullwinkle428]

3. NYPD : "I gotchyer free press right here!"

K&R.

[Spazito]

5. The Spin is the priority...

not the facts or the reporter's rights and safety. That's the message being sent to the reporters. Disgusting but not surprising.