Blurred Lines Get Even Blurrier

You’ll often hear PR people — especially those who have been burned in the past — remind clients that there’s no such thing as off the record. This post isn’t about whether that statement is true or not; instead, it’s about the fact that what’s considered “on the record” just expanded. And PR people, brands and individuals engaging in social media need to take notice.

This morning, Jason Falls tweeted that he was quoted in article about social media in the Tennessean. Actually, a statement he wrote on his blog was attributed to him as a quote in the article. Understandably, Jason wasn’t sure how to feel about that. The article didn’t include a link back to the original post — nor did the writer (who at first glance appears to be new to social media) disclose the fact that the statement was taken from a blog post.

A couple weeks ago, GlobeSt.com posted an article about incorporating social media to market apartments. The article featured Urbane Apartments as one example of a company embracing social media and included information taken from Eric Brown’s blog. The difference between this situation and the Tennessean is that the GlobeSt.com reporter embedded links to numerous Urbane social media sites. And, instead of reporting that Eric said the quote, the journalist said Eric wrote it. From the article:

“Urbane Apartments and Urbane employees twitter regularly,” he writes. “To further integrate we started the Urbane Lobby, where residents can meet and greet, trade pictures and videos and socialize on line. And we manage and power a blog aimed at our residents, all designed around our target demographic local brand recognition.”

Is this a new trend in journalism? Is it a result of overworked reporters who simply need to find information quickly and don’t have time to conduct traditional interviews with every source? A study released this morning by PR Newswire found that journalists who don’t participate in social media are in the minority. That means the trend of quoting statements made on socialized media isn’t likely to go away any time soon.

So, how should people who participate in social media respond? Well, the answer isn’t to stop talking. Instead, consider these two important pieces of advice:

• Nothing is private. As Peter Shankman likes to point out, “privacy died 30 years ago.” With cameras on cell phones, video recorders and microphones embedded in laptops and the open nature of social networks, anything you say or do is fair game — like it or not. So, control what you can. Understand that what you tweet, blog or comment may very well end up in a newspaper. And, if you’re not comfortable with it being in a newspaper, don’t say it.
• Be a good social media neighbor. Give “link love” — and hopefully, you’ll get it back in return. As this becomes a “best practice” in social media, journalists will understand that if they lift a quote from a blog or other social space, they should have the common courtesy to provide a link back to the original source (just as GlobeSt.com did).

I tweeted with a few people about this issue this morning. As John Sternal pointed out: “If it’s picked up from a blog, then yes that should be cited or stated. It’s on the record but it still should be cited.” BJ Fischer said, “On the record is on the record.”

The general consensus seems to be that reporters should disclose if they’ve taken a statement from a blog, but that bloggers need to understand that what they write may end up in the paper. (I also reached out to the Tennessean writer, David Bohan, via Twitter; however he hasn’t tweeted anything since March 17. If I receive a response, I’ll update this post.)

What do you think about this new trend? Is it a positive advancement or a step backwards for journalism? How would you feel if a reporter quoted something you wrote on your blog?