Newspapers need to let their journalists use social media such as Twitter and Facebook even if it does attract a little criticism, says a sector commentator.
Newspapers should be embracing social media sites and encouraging their journalists to use the platform rather than censor what they write, an industry commentator has suggested.
Wendy Davis, writing in MediaPost's Daily Online Examiner blog, made her comments following news that the Washington Post is bringing in new guidelines regarding the use of social media so that they do not affect the public's perception of the publication's objectivity.
She remarked that it is beneficial to have the news expressed through the experiences of a journalist, rather than just reading objective wire copy.
Ms Davis explained: "Allowing reporters and editors to blog and tweet about their opinions might result in some criticism of the paper, but might also spark some more interest in it."
In her opinion, many opinionated journalists are popular and it is outdated to think that their work will damage a newspaper's credibility.
Last week, Ms Davis reported the difficult position newspapers are in at the moment, whereby none of them can try and charge for online content until they all do so, because otherwise people will just resort to wherever news is available for free.
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