By Tyler Sutherland
The new director of BBC Global News is pro-social networking. In fact, Peter Horrocks is backing Facebook and Twitter so much, he has made it mandatory for journalists in his newsroom to use it.
Horrocks took a similar stand to what most newsrooms have been doing for over a year now — utilizing social media in their news gathering operations. Horrocks told a U.K. newspaper that it’s not a fad for those into technology, but if you aren’t using it, you aren’t doing your job.
Also included on the list of a journalist’s tools are regular monitoring of RSS readers, not just the newswire services.
There may be a reason for the new director’s enthusiasm, as his previous role was heading up BBC’s multimedia division. Either way, he’s on the ball.
— With files from Guardian.co.uk
