AP Staff Scolded For Tweeting Too Quickly About Occupy Wall Street

Associated Press employees received an email on Wednesday morning scolding them for tweeting about the rough treatment of the press at the Occupy Wall Street encampment.

AP reporter Karen Matthews and AP photographer Seth Wenig were among at least six journalists arrested in the police raid on Zucotti Park on Tuesday morning. Numerous other members of the media also reported that police treated them aggressively, and sometimes violently.

The AP took issue with its employees tweeting about what happened before the organization produced the story. "In relation to AP staff being taken into custody at the Occupy Wall Street story, we’ve had a breakdown in staff sticking to policies around social media and everyone needs to get with their folks now to tell them to knock it off," the memo obtained by Daily Intel read. "We have had staff tweet – BEFORE THE MATERIAL WAS ON THE WIRE – that staff were arrested."

The memo is in line with the AP's official rules that employees should not break news ahead of the wire. The news of the email produced some indignation from other journalists.