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NYT Editor to Monitor Jerusalem Bureau Chief’s Social Media

After Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren’s “rocky start” on social media, the New York Times “is assigning an editor on the foreign desk in New York to work closely with Ms. Rudoren on her social media posts,the Times’ public editor Margaret Sullivan reported Nov. 28.  Sullivan explained:

“The idea is to capitalize on the promise of social media’s engagement with readers while not exposing The Times to a reporter’s unfiltered and unedited thoughts.

“Given the spotlight that the Jerusalem bureau chief is bound to attract, and Ms. Rudoren’s self-acknowledged missteps, this was a necessary step.”

Check out Rudoren’s Twitter account. As Politico explained, Rudoren’s tweets were criticized for being complimentary to “anti-Zionists,” and the Atlantic added she has “shmoozed-up Ali Abunimah, a Palestinian activist” and “linked without comment to an article in a pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper.”

Poynter noted that New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha and Rudoren told New York Mag the monitoring isn’t “punitive.”

UPDAET: 12/2/2012 : 10:58 AM EST: Added info about Rudoren’s tweets