This is a story by Michelle Harmon's beginning journalism student who "won" first place in a news writing challenge. The piece speaks about understanding that once something is online, it's there forever.

The NBC-Affiliate in Boise partners with Harmon's news program through the RTNDF (Radio and Television School-to-Station Connections/Partnership).

As social networking becomes an ever-increasingly key component in driving traffic to news sites, news organizations are working to set social media policies for their organization practices, and even for their reporters. To date, policies vary greatly and have produced a variety of dialogue. The links here should help you understand a bit what news organizations are doing with these policies and show you what some of the debate centers around.

NOW A LOOK AT THE “SHOULD WE?”

Law tells us the “could we?” when it comes to online and other types of media. Could we include first and last names with photos on our Web site? Could we publish minors’ names if they are found guilty of a crime? Could we write about birth control? Could we publish a letter to the editor without including the writer’s name?