The "story" was included in a posting on the Post's web site. Later the blogger protested that he was just repeating a rumor he'd heard about a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee.
It wasn't that long ago that an Alabama blogger posted as fact rumors about Alabama A.G. Troy King. He too defended himself with the "I was just repeating a rumor" comment...not much of a defense if you ask me.
There are some trecherous waters out there for newspapers and other traditional media that head out into bloggerland. Traditional journalists have argued that it is the presence of editors, and other fact-checking systems, that provide newspapers and other standard media legitimacy, while bloggers say pretty much anything they want and are held only to the
Ain't free speech a bitch?!
ReplyDeleteIf the "media" is to be respected, they must earn it. To this point - though historically maligned - they've done more losing than earning.
If a statement is rumor, news organizations should report it AS SUCH, rather than ignore it.
Perhaps it's time to again review the FCC's media ownership rules and the intersection of ethical standard in journalism, and in journalism schools.
Remember... there's a good reason why concentrating news and other such outlets has been and is a BAD idea. http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/
BTW, regarding "...the lose standards of..."
The proper spelling is lOOse. *LOL*
As always, keep up the good work!