Protecting News Companies and Their Readers: Exploring Social Media Policies in Latin American Newsrooms

Abstract

This study uses a survey of journalists from throughout Latin America (n = 1,094) to understand the relationship between policies (or lack thereof) and journalists’ work environments and editorial decisions. Results show most journalists work in newsrooms with no policy in place. Country, newsroom size, geographic scope, and revenue source all are significantly related to presence of a policy. Despite differences in organizational factors and country contexts, this study suggests newsrooms in Latin America mostly approach the use and regulation of social media in the same ways. Journalists’ descriptions of policies suggest they extend traditional practices and ethics to the social media realm, representing a missed opportunity as journalists lack the guidance they need to deal with the latest technological advancements. Journalists described outward-facing policies focused on protecting the news companies’ brands, readers, and sources, rather than protecting journalists.

Keywords:

• Journalism
• Latin America
• normalization
• social media
• survey

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin, and its director, Rosental Calmon Alves, for supporting this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).