I read today's Public Editor in the NY Times and it was about an egregious mistake the Times made in its initial on-line reporting of the shooting in Tuscon. To wit, they initially reported that Rep. Giffords was killed when she was not.
They blamed the mistake on a variety of circumstances all of which boiled down to the fact that they felt they had to get the story out FAST. Time pressures in what they now call the 1440/7 news cycle. The 1440 being the number of minutes in a day.
Well, I question this need for speed in today's "all fear all the time" news environment. What's the hurry? Who are you competing against? The next blogger? The next on-line news report?
In the old days, a "scoop" meant you got the story to the newsstand first. Then, time was definitely a factor -- facts, not so. "Dewey Beats Truman" anyone?
Remember the agonizing delay before it was factually reported that President Kennedy was, indeed, killed by a gunman in Texas. So, NY Times, why the rush to judgement this time?
The point I'm trying to make here is: take a breath fellas. In on-line publishing you are competing only against yourself.
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