Howard University President: Research Center Will Not Close 11/18/2009

In a Nov. 16 letter  posted on the university Web site, Howard President Sidney A. Ribeau reaffirmed the college’s commitment to keeping the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center open. The letter was posted in response to a recent article in the student daily newspaper, the Hilltop, that questioned the facility’s future. The center houses thousands of bound volumes, journals, manuscripts and other data chronicling the lives of African descendants throughout the Diaspora.

“ This story sparked articles and outcries across the country. We have received your letters, emails and Facebook messages. Please be assured that the University will not close Moorland-Spingarn and there were never plans to do so,” Ribeau said. “Despite recent budget cuts across the University to weather the economic downturn, we have not reduced funding to the Center. In fact, a national search will begin shortly to find a permanent director to continue the stellar work Dr. Thomas Battle has done for more than two decades. The new leader will also expand the ‘Friends of MSRC’ fundraising program launched in 1996 and explore ways to attract additional financial support for a stronger Moorland-Spingarn.”

Journos Using Facebook 11/10/2009

The Poynter Institute  will host a Webinar Thursday to help journalists effectively use Facebook to reach new audiences, enhance their storytelling and engage online readers.

The event, offered via Poynter’s NewsU, begins at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Nov. 12.

Ellyn Angelotti, interactivity editor of Poynter Online and adjunct faculty at Poynter, will demonstrate how news organizations are using Facebook. Participants will explore best practices and techniques for building an online presence.

The one-hour Webinar costs $24.95. For more information and to register, go to www.newsu.org/FacebookWebinar09.

Webcast Devoted to Helping Journalists Use Facebook 09/21/2009

On Sept. 18, the Columbia Journalism School  presented a webcast/call-in show about ways journalists could use Facebook to get story ideas, connect with sources and draw more attention to their writing.  Columbia media professor Sree Sreenivasan  moderated the event, which featured speakers such as Ben Parr, co-editor of Mashable.com and Barry Schnitt, director of communications, privacy and policy for Facebook.

•  To listen to the archived “Advanced Facebook for Journalists.”  
•  For information on previous webcasts offered by the journalism school

AP Issues Social-Networking Guidelines 06/23/2009

The Associated Press  has adopted a social-networking policy  for employees, warning them  “to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards.”

“It’s a good idea to monitor your profile page to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards; any such material should be deleted. Also, managers should not issue friend requests to subordinates, since that could be awkward for employees. It’s fine if employees want to initiate the friend process with their bosses,” according to the policy.

“The AP’s social-networking policy comes as the media at large begins adopting Facebook and Twitter guidelines during a time of explosive growth in online social media,” wrote David Kravets for Wired.com. “The News Media Guild, representing about 1,000 AP journalists, says the AP’s policy is perhaps the most restrictive the union has seen.”

“I am unaware of anything else like that,” News Media Guild President Tony Winton told Wired. “Parts of the policy seem to be snuffing out peoples’ First Amendment rights of expression by a company that wraps itself in the First Amendment.”

The news organization is concerned about what employees’ put on their social networking feed/pages because “we all have a stake in upholding the AP’s reputation for fairness and impartiality, which has been one of our chief assets for more than 160 years.”

“So many people were asking what our policy was, we wanted to lay out the top-level view,” Kristin Gazlay, AP’s managing editor/financial news and global training, told Editor and Publisher.

She distributed the policy to employees last week.

“It has become a huge part of how people gather information and disseminate information,” Gazlay said. ”There is no intent on being Big Brother, no plans to scour people’s pages looking for things.”

“These guidelines do not break new ground – they are consistent with the rest of our Statement of News Values and Principles. They just take into account the new realities of the social-networking world and answer questions that many AP employees have asked,” according to the policy.