‘The New York Times’ Facebook problem

Wed, Jan 21st, 2009

I'm an unabashed New York Times fan boy. Warts and all, it remains the best edited daily newspaper in this country. Disagree? Then come find me on Twitter and let's mix it up. (My handle is "coopeydoop").

You won't have a chance to do the same with many Times reporters and editors--on Twitter or any other social network, for that matter. Batting it back and forth with the hoi polloi just isn't part of the drill. Not, mind you, because they lack for opinions or have no stomach for engagement.

The Poynter Institute reposted the text of a memo from Craig Whitney, the paper's assistant managing editor, to his newsroom, in which he urges extreme caution in how Times employees use Facebook and other social-networking sites. For starters:

Our system thought this story was mainly about: Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Social Networks
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  1. michael
    January 21st, 2009 at 11:45
    Reply | Quote | #1

    You miss one big point - its a caution on how you use it, not cautioning not to use it. There is a big difference.

    We’re all on Twitter (and Identica) and Facebook (OpenSocial etc) already :)