As some journalism processes have become automated, more and more examples of why a human touch is a good thing have cropped up. For example, MSNBC's Travel page last Wednesday includes this sub headline
Immediately below was a huge picture of the broken cruise liner off the Italian Coast. Oops.
The computer programs that select photos to go with stories on journalism-lite sites like Yahoo and Charter (and, apparently MSNBC) often chose appallingly bad examples...pictures or sketches that really don't really go with the story, but which were probably "selected" by the computer.
In a world in which all media are interconnected, from websites like timlennox.com, to the TV Networks, a tiny error can quickly be magnified. That's what happened on Saturday when a small student newspaper reported the death of Joe Paterno...who was still alive at the time*.
CBS Sports picked up the story and ran with it, apparently without considering the source was a student paper. Pack journalism at its worst.
Even more serious was the fake CNN News Alert that looked legit, but was not. The email made a false claim about Newt Gingrich on the day of the South Carolina Primary, which he went on to win. No media outlet apparently went with that incorrect report. News consumers must remember that many news sources online are reliable, others not so much, and some are outright frauds.
The media needs to remember the same thing.
*Paterno died on Sunday.
[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of http://www.timlennox.com/]
"Getting there is half the fun, so the saying goes. MSNBC.com's travel team examines the issues of the day and, of course, the joy and hassle of traveling."
Immediately below was a huge picture of the broken cruise liner off the Italian Coast. Oops.
The computer programs that select photos to go with stories on journalism-lite sites like Yahoo and Charter (and, apparently MSNBC) often chose appallingly bad examples...pictures or sketches that really don't really go with the story, but which were probably "selected" by the computer.
In a world in which all media are interconnected, from websites like timlennox.com, to the TV Networks, a tiny error can quickly be magnified. That's what happened on Saturday when a small student newspaper reported the death of Joe Paterno...who was still alive at the time*.
CBS Sports picked up the story and ran with it, apparently without considering the source was a student paper. Pack journalism at its worst.
Even more serious was the fake CNN News Alert that looked legit, but was not. The email made a false claim about Newt Gingrich on the day of the South Carolina Primary, which he went on to win. No media outlet apparently went with that incorrect report.The media needs to remember the same thing.
*Paterno died on Sunday.
[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of http://www.timlennox.com/]
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