The Washington Post announced on Friday new social media guidelines for its staffers. The paper's Ombudsmen Andrew Alexander wrote in his columnon September 25 about a situation with Raju Narisetti, a managing editor, who had Twittered some personal opinions on healthcare and term limits:
"In today's hyper-sensitive political environment, Narisetti's tweets could be seen as one of The Post's top editors taking sides on the question of whether a health-care reform plan must be budget neutral…Many readers already view The Post with suspicion and believe that the personal views of its reporters and editors influence the coverage. The tweets could provide ammunition."

Several bloggers and reporters, including Steve Buttry, BusinessWeek's Stephen Baker, and PaidContent.org's Staci D. Kramer have all posted criticisms of the guidelines, with Kramer posting the full guidelines. We'll be following up on this situation, so keep checking back for more information.