Over at the Canadian Media Guild, they are talking about a new policy brought down by management that CBC employees will not be reimbursed for passport fees when travelling for work. Employees are encouraged to still file the expenses and then take it up with the union if expenses are denied.

Good arguments could be made for both sides in this issue.

• On one hand, there really aren’t that many companies that would reimburse passport expenses, as the passport has personal as well as business use.
• On the employee side, some employees actually do only go out of the country on business and choose to spend their vacation and other time in Canada only - the CBC may arguably have more employees that are inclined to do this than other organizations.

There is also the good old “we’ve had it and now it is being taken away”, which doesn’t sit well with anyone. Kind of like having a nice holiday party every year and then being told you have to pay for admission.

What do you think about the new passport policy? Fair? Unfair?

Photo by HJL used under Creative Commons licence.

Reaction on the new personal blogging guidelines is beginning to come in from CBC employees and fans who also maintain personal blogs.

Joe Mahoney:

I will be adhering to it in every way, shape and form. I especially appreciate that they reference the CBC Blogging Manifesto in a positive way.

Paul Gorbould:

Though not perfect, it is an eminently more sensible document. The tone is cautiously encouraging, and the bulk of it explains how existing policies — journalistic, IT and HR — affect what you do online. Though I don’t know of any bloggers who were consulted this time or last, the change in tone certainly reflects the lively conversation that evolved last time around. I recognize a few bits of the text.

Justin Beach:

It appears to me anyway, that the core of the policy is the same and it raises troubling questions…. Overall, I’d have to say that this policy is dangerous. The internet is a huge part of the lives of most people under 40-45. This policy does not, in any way, recognize the realities of how people use the internet. It is a policy that everyone, at some point, will violate and so creates a situation where anyone, at their manager’s (or their manager’s manager’s digression, or their … etc.,) can be punished, at any point. Everything that everyone said about the policy the last time it was announced, still holds with the new one.

Ouimet hasn’t weighed in yet. Maybe she secretly wrote the document?…

The new blogging guidelines are out (now officially called “Self Publishing and Self Expression on the Internet” cause, you know, it’s snappier ) and while the document takes a friendlier tone, CBC journalists still require their supervisor’s permission to maintain a personal blog, post a comment on someone else’s blog or Facebook.

The restriction, though, is simply an extension of existing Code of Ethics policies.

The new guidelines say:

“…Journalists must get permission for all outside freelance and journalistic work, including written articles for self-publication or blogs….

If you work in News and Current Affairs, in particular, in addition to seeking the permission of your supervisor, you should also ensure that nothing that you are self-publishing or expressing during the course of such activities risks undermining the integrity or impartiality of CBC/Radio-Canada’s News divisions.”

The original document which was distributed to some news staff (later said to have just been a draft for discussion) required the permission of workers’ bosses to have or even maintain an existing personal blog. This was to apply to all employees, not just those involved in news.

While written in a simpler, less punitive voice, the document still occasionally lapses into CorpSpeak:

Self-publishing activities and self-expression on the Internet should also be done in a way that respects our policy on Corporate Information Technology (IT) Security and Employee Use of IT Assets. For example, “Employees are provided with access to CBC/Radio-Canada IT Assets for business use and for the purpose of performing job-related activities. Although some limited personal use will be tolerated, it is subject to this Policy and must not interfere with or detract from employees’ assigned tasks.” In this respect, all such activities should be done on an employee’s own time, using a personal computer and personal e-mail address.

(Would it have killed them to just say: “Remember that while it’s fine to use your workstation computer for infrequent personal tasks, please use your own home computer and personal email address for most of your blogging and other personal uses.”?!)

The full guidelines are after the jump.

So, what do you think?

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