There has been a lot of noise recently over the leaked WaPo guidelines for social media use. The restrictive policy has been accused of making Twitter look like a minefield for reporters, shutting down interaction and engagement, and forbidding journalists to have personal lives online.
The guidelines go too far in suggesting – intentionally or otherwise – that it is impossible for reporters to have a private life online, and the argument that individual journalists should not express opinion has met widespread disapproval. But are there other arguments for splitting personal from professional chatter online?