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Associated Press has reprimanded some of its journalists for
Associated Press has reprimanded some of its journalists for breaking news on Twitter before posting it on the wires.
The news agency issued the warning after some staff members tweeted that AP journalists had been arrested at the Occupy Wall Street camp in Manhattan.
An email from bosses followed reminding staff about AP's social media policies.
The incident has reopened a debate about how traditional media deal with the disruptive nature of social networks.
Twitter has become a breaking news service for many people but it lacks the traditional outlets' reputation for accuracy. Because anyone can break stories on the platform they do not always turn out to be correct.
While Twitter is an invaluable tool in newsrooms around the world, it has also forced news organisations, including AP, to draw up strict rules.
"If you have a piece of information, a photo or a video that is compelling, exclusive and/or urgent enough to be considered breaking news, you should file it to the wire, and photo and video points before you consider putting it out on social media," the AP policy reads.
After the recent incident in New York, AP's managing editor Lou Ferrara wrote an email to employees explaining that their first duty was to the agency not Twitter.
And executive editor Kathleen Carroll issued a memo saying much of the resulting "chatter" had missed the point.
"When we lose contact with a journalist, our main focus is making sure they are safe, no matter where they are. Sometimes, talking about it while things are still uncertain can endanger them," she said.
"It's not outlandish to think that a tweet that's taken by someone in authority to be opinionated or sarcastic could lead to one of our staffers being held longer than necessary."
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