Professionalism? Restricting Expressions? Determining Journalists' Individual Social Media Uses Based on Institutional Guidelines

Abstract

The usage of social media by journalists might lead to problems with the conflict between their personal and professional identities. Because it can be difficult to distinguish between private and public posts, media companies are developing guidelines to regulate how their employees use social media. The study examines how institutional guidelines for journalists' use of social media can influence their personal use of social media. Through document analysis, the guidelines of both the BBC and Anadolu Agency in Türkiye were examined with the aim of uncovering the expectations of these institutions. Both documents were analyzed using the Python programming language. Furthermore, with the goal to uncover the journalists' perceptions of the guidelines, in-depth interviews were carried out with personnels from BBC and Anadolu Agency. The research showed that the guidelines were designed to safeguard corporate identity and reliability. Moreover, it was noted that the journalists who were interviewed did not view the guidelines as a form of intervention or censorship.