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University of Washington Enforces ‘Live Coverage Policy,’ Reprimands Reporter for Tweeting Too Much

Social media use has become a mainstay of beat reporters everywhere with lots of information available over Twitter and other services live during games. But be sure not to take it too far if you’re covering the University of Washington.

One writer for the Tacoma News Tribune was recently “reprimanded” (it’s unclear exactly what that means) by the university for tweeting too much during a basketball game. The school has since clarified that it invoked its “Live Coverage Policy” in doing whatever it did to Todd Dybas, the reporter in question.

In short, the policy seems to be to protect the value of its television and radio rights. Although USC also has a similar policy for live written updates, no other school in the Pac-12 appears to have a strict limit on a specific number of tweets allowed by writers. Dybas also appears to be the first reporter actually singled out for breaking such a policy.

“We’re always going to protect live descriptions of events,” said UW athletic director Scott Woodward. “That’s something that has always been our right for decades and continues to be so. As technology gets better and better, we’re going to have to be more vigilant about how we do it, but also understand that reporting has changed, too. There’s a fine line there and we’re always going to be cognizant and reasonable.”

Also, tonight I was reprimanded by the University of Washington for tweeting too much during a live event.

— Todd Dybas (@Todd_Dybas) November 12, 2012

Thumbnail photo via Wikimedia Commons/Husky Stadium