To: Dr. Stice, Technical Writing Professor
From: Alexandra Sloat, UAF Student
Date: September 7, 2015
Subject: Los Angeles Times Social Media Guidelines
Dr. Stice,
I’ve completed the exercise required for this week and wanted to discuss my thoughts on the Los Angeles Times social media policy. I thought that the policy was well organized and adequately explained why the policy is in place. The memo states that the way people share and retrieve information is changing so it’s important that the company evolves with it without losing their ethical judgment, principles, and standards. The company makes sure to address the memo to those who work online as well as those who work in print. The company stresses that no matter the department, the Los Angeles Times has a solid reputation and gives everyone the responsibility of upholding that reputation.
I thought the company did an excellent job of creating a statement with a positive tone. The company recognized the importance of social media in journalism but as well as their employees personal lives. Therefore, they encourage their employees to use social media as they please as long as they understand that regardless of privacy settings, anything they write online is public and permanent. I believe that their guidelines are fair and I would have no problem abiding by these rules.
I especially admired how the company noted that they understand that professional lives and personal lives with inevitably merge. Social media has changed the world in many positive ways, but can also be quite destructive. One post from an angry or opinionated employee can shine a negative light on the entire company. One post has the power to do a lot of damage to their reputation so I thought it was appropriate to encourage employees to use the same guidelines when using their personal social media accounts as they would posting on a professional account.
Best,
Alexandra Sloat
(https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2009/11/updated-social-media-guidelines.html).