Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The miner story
I wrote about it way back in the earliest days of this blog, in Leadership Secrets from Iraq:
"First reports are often wrong. Scratch that: First reports are almost always wrong."
I think any veteran of a war zone would recognize how the rumor mill operates and how dangerous it is. I understand the elation, and I understand how reporters, being human, would get caught up in the excitement of the moment. But that story should never have been reported without first getting confirmation from eyewitnesses and responsible officials.
At first I was forgiving. These things happen. Reporters and editors make mistakes. But the more I contemplate it, this was a major failure of media professionalism.
Splash, out
Jason
"First reports are often wrong. Scratch that: First reports are almost always wrong."
I think any veteran of a war zone would recognize how the rumor mill operates and how dangerous it is. I understand the elation, and I understand how reporters, being human, would get caught up in the excitement of the moment. But that story should never have been reported without first getting confirmation from eyewitnesses and responsible officials.
At first I was forgiving. These things happen. Reporters and editors make mistakes. But the more I contemplate it, this was a major failure of media professionalism.
Splash, out
Jason
Comments:
You just used the words "media professionalism" to describe television news. That was sarcasm, wasn't it?
I agree with your assessment, "major failure of media professionalism." Would you expand on your viewpoint in another post?
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