Studios are cracking down on talent and executives that use Twitter and other social networking sites to reveal details about productions in progress, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Twitter, in fact, was the preferred medium when Paula Abdul broke the news of her departure from Fox's American Idol. It was also used when Ryan Seacrest announced, before the network had a chance to issue a statement, that NBC chief Ben Silverman was headed out the door.

Hollywood, of course, has a history of manipulating, tightly shaping and spinning its news, and industry titans want to keep it that way.

Thus, as THR reports, Disney has a new clause in its talent contracts against broadcasting confidential company info on social networks and blogs. Likewise, the publication notes, DreamWorks' new writers' contract forbids disseminating information via social networks before official press releases are issued on the topic.

“This is just the beginning,” a top talent lawyer tells the Reporter. “Hollywood has

a long history of controlling what talent says in the media. This is

just a new area of media that hasn't been controlled yet.”

If the past (music file-sharing, the viral spread of copyrighted news, ahem) is any indication, though, the industry is going to have an uphill battle trying to keep this genie in a bottle.

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