Private Blogging, Public Lives

Linda Mason, who PE readers know by now as the senior vice president for standards and special projects at CBS News, yesterday informed CBS News employees of the network's rules concerning personal blogging. Mason, who is updating and overseeing the network's standards sends out reminders and updates from time to time. Yesterday's caught our eye because, well, it concerns blogging. Here's what Mason advised:

"In this time of the exponential growth of blogs, there are CBS News employees who are creating and maintaining personal blogs. Before any such blog is created, the SVP of Standards must be informed and must approve the blog . For those of you who are already in the blogosphere, you must contact the SVP of Standards. There can be no messages or information posted on these blogs that is potentially damaging to CBS News if made public."

Outside blogging by journalists, and employees of other industries, has been a point of contention in the past and some bloggers have lost their jobs, even when operating anonymously. And certainly there is a responsibility for those in the media to take care with perceptions, but how easily are blogs policed? Should people, even those in the media, have the freedom to blog about what they would like?

[ronmwanga]

As strange as it sounds, I can understand Linda Mason's position, as a blog could potentially hurt CBS, which will be the capstone of it's division of Viacom post-split. CBS News should protect itself. That having been said, lets hope that the vetting process is, for lack of a better word, "liberal." Going through employee blogs with a fine tooth comb would be, in itself, embarrassing for Murrow's Black Rock and the cause of journalistic freedom.

[wintermute1-2009]

Wait a minute. Didn't Rather go to an anti-gun function and get nailed for it here? Suppose he started a blog to repeal the Second Amendment. Wouldn't that tend to reduce his value as a trusted representative of CBS news on related issues? Some limitations may go along with contractual employment, compensated for by advantages like position and compensation. CBS may fine tune this policy, but I have to bet they vetted it to their labor lawyers first.

[foshoyaknow]

Freedom of speech unless you work for the institution that should care about it the most. When will the hypocrisy end? Maybe journalists shouldn't be allowed to vote or speak in public on their own time, either.

[derek7272]

my coworker at the newspaper i work has a knitting blog (http://everywordsapurl.blogspot.com/ )-- i guess if she worked at CBS she'd have to clear that with the bosses?

[annezook]

I think the regulation is far too sweeping and is unlikely to hold up in court. You can't prevent someone from blogging in their own time and it's silly to try. CBS would be well advised to change the wording to make it clear that anyone blogging about job-related issues requires permission, nothing else.