On Wednesday morning, Times Network employees were in for a surprise when they received an email from the Head of Human Resources regarding the updated social media policy of the company. The mail, which had the updated social media policy as an attachment, warned that the document was an internal policy document and requires employees to maintain strict confidentiality. While many companies do have a social media policy, several points mentioned in the dos and don’ts section of the policy make it no less than a gag order by the company. Employees have been asked not to post anything in contradiction to the stand taken by the channels and that they should immediately take down social media posts if the company asks them to.
The Times Network is the television division of Benett, Coleman & Company Limited (BCCL) the parent company of India’s largest media conglomerate. The Times Division has around a dozen channels under its umbrella and Times Now, Mirror Now, ET Now, Movies Now, Romedy Now, Zoom and Navbharat Times are some of them.
The first paragraph of the policy speaks about how social media is one of the company’s distribution mechanisms and how it has become “integral and strategic to the Company’s operations.” Then the policy goes on to explain the purpose of the social media policy and how it requires all employees and consultants to comply with the policy.
TNM went through the Times Group’s updated social media policy and has listed down some of the demands of the company:
Journalists have been asked not to post any messages, comments or content which is likely to create controversy or is in contradiction to the Company or its Channels’ views or reporting. The company has asked employees not to post their personal view on any issues political or religious in nature. The social media policy says “anti-secular and anti-social” content cannot be shared on any social media platform by employees.
Though Times Now, the flagship channel of the group, has often come under criticism for toeing the government’s line, employees have been told that they are banned from expressing any political affiliation or political preference or any direct or indirect support to any political party.
The new social media policy demands that employees not retweet, post or even like any posts put out by competing channels and also other media platforms from either print, broadcast and digital, that don’t belong to the Times Network. The policy says going against this rule would be equal to working in favour of competitors. Interestingly, agencies and foreign media were left out from the competing media category.
The policy also demands that employees immediately remove any post or tweet from their account when notified by the Times Network.
Henceforth Times Group employees will probably have to literally put out a star mark below every post they share because one of the rules states that they need to make it clear that content belongs to a third party and is not your own.
The new policy mandates that employees cannot use social media to post personal views about political or religious issues.
Earlier reporters who would access important exclusive information would share it to the respective channel and then could put it out on their social media handles. This helped a lot of reporters use their personal handles for building a loyal audience. Henceforth, Times Network will have the first opportunity to publish the exclusive content brought in by reporters and they will not have permission to put it out on their profiles/handles.
Other than this, the policy asks employees not to engage with trolls, respond in any way or get into a debate. They have been asked to alert the social media editor in case of bullying or threats on social media. Times Network employees will now have to update the network about all accounts handled and operated by them and cannot publish any unaired video or audio clip without the clearance of the Social Media Editor.
The policy says that employees who fail to comply with the laid down social media rules and regulations will face disciplinary measures which include withdrawal and suspension of posts or suspension or termination of the employee from services.
This is not the first time a news channel in India has made sweeping changes to its social media policy and Times Group is not the only one. India Today, Hindustan Times, and Republic too have in the past imposed a gag on content that their employees can share, advising employees not to share “personal opinions” on their social media accounts.