12-01-2023, 04:24 AM
An interesting read from Deadline: Should BBC News bet its future social media presence mainly on TikTok?
Quote:BBC News said this week that it was recruiting four journalists to create a TikTok team within the corporation’s social news unit. “Growing the BBC News TikTok account to make it the biggest and best, both globally and in the UK, is one of News’ main priorities for 2023,” the job ad said.
But senior figures in the newsroom are sceptical amid widespread fears that data stored in China could be accessed by the Communist government. One veteran employee said the BBC was prepared to stomach “data scraping by the Chinese” in order to feed its “obsession with TikTok”.
The source added that journalists have been encouraged to post on TikTok, but some less experienced staff had gone too far and have been pulled up by management for sharing behind-the-scenes footage.
“Some have got themselves into trouble for posting stuff with the BBC brand in the background,” the insider said. “There isn’t enough nuance and safety around what they are posting.” The BBC declined to comment on this issue.
A second insider said: “There are security issues and the role of the Chinese is worrying … I’m a sceptic, but it’s top of the priority list for the new boss and the chairman. Doesn’t feel to me like the best place to reach people who pay a licence fee for our broadcast output.”
Commenting on the timing of the BBC’s investment in TikTok, a third BBC staffer said: “Yeah, not exactly the time to be uncritically throwing resources at a platform.”
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