AP Union Tells Members to Stop Tweeting

As contract negotiations resume between executives for the AP wire services and the News Media Guild, the labor union is calling for a “tweet-out.”

While the parties prepare to meet for negotiations on Monday and Tuesday, the News Media Guild is telling union employees of theAssociated Press: “Don’t post Tweets or Facebook any links to any AP stories. This is only for those NOT required to tweet as part of their job,” according to an e-mail obtained by Poynter.

Reporters are not generally required to share their stories via social media, according to CNN; it’s more a matter of graciously supporting one’s company, or self-promotion.

While the tweet-out is only one part of the planned protests — in the past, AP journalists nixed their namesfrom their stories and photos.

Granted, this latest strategy is more of an attention-grabbing stunt than an actual detriment to the AP (it’s a newswire, so AP stories are featured on, and tweeted by, many other sites), but it does demonstrate the growing importance of social when it comes to news media.

We reached out to the AP for comment and it directed us toward a memo, which was sent out on Thursday night, saying: “Since January, we have said at the negotiating table and in our notes to the field that this change must be enacted soon if we are to fund the projects AP needs to maintain our market position and to prevent further erosion of our revenue. External competition to our news business remains fierce, and we must have the cash to be able to maintain our competitive advantage.”

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