It is amazing how much the news has changed in the last fifteen years. The pressure to get the "scoop", write it up and post it is more apparent than ever. All this competition is good. It pushes journalists to be at the top of their game and to push themselves. Unfortunately, in the midst of all of this the crucial practice of verification can slip and even be dropped completely.
The in class example from The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a terrific example of how journalists will jump on the bandwagon, reporting information whose only verification is a loose word of mouth. As said in class, "they report just for the sake of reporting it".
The guest speaker Don Hudson from ABC4 brought up a point that I hadn't thought about during the assigned reading or the group's presentation. He said he couldn't think of anyone that pledges allegiance to a certain news group simply because they have the story first. That is so true. Online I just click on whatever headline I see first, no matter the accompanied news organization. But the story I want, the story I will search for, is the in-depth article detailing that story or headline. And that kinda story only comes when journalists dig deep and practice gruelling verification.
A slip in verification could be something small but it could also swing the other way. An associate editor at The Oregonian told me that in one horrific case they posted that a person had died, when he or she were really only injured. Though it was only online for less than a minute, it is a reminder of how critical the process of verification is, even if it causes one to be second with a story.
Find out why Corrections Aren't Just For Journalists Anymore
So why do most news organizations have the mentality that they should post stories online first? And in regards to verification on the internet, what's the harm in posting something online that may not be true, when you can take it down the moment you find out it is false? You can't do so in print journalism.
ReplyDeleteThe dangers of online reporting! Not only is there pressure to be on there immediately after the news occurs, but if an error is made (like in your example) it can't REALLY be taken away. Like we are always told-once you post something online it is forever online. Anyone who saw that the person had died in that one minute that it was up could have copied it, posted it somewhere else etc etc. Oh, what a mess. I read an article about the importance of accuracy and the writer pointed out that it is becoming even more prevalent in this digital age.
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