What's With The Media Bashing?

To those using Michael Jackson's death as a reason to bash "Old" Media:

You rightly criticized the mainstream media for calling the 2000 election prematurely.  That was an unmitigated disaster.

Now you're wrongly criticizing them for their initial reporting (or lack thereof) out of Iran; and their hesitation to confirm Michael Jackson's death.

You can't have it both ways. 

At at the end of the day, I'll take solid reporting over knowing something 20 minutes earlier. 

Because unless we're talking a terrorist attack or natural disaster, those extra 20 minutes it took to get the story right won't matter in the long run.

And besides, what value comes of bashing "old" media?  Perhaps I'm biased since my wife spent many years as a national TV news producer, but what seems lost on the Twitterati is that behind the mastheads and animated logos sit a smart, dedicated, thoughtful group of producers, editors and reporters who want - more than anything - to get the story right.

Comments

[sophie]

The way information flows into a newsroom is erratic-- your first three calls, either incoming or to sources, could all yield different results. What then? Do you jump on the bandwagon and post one of those results because a competitor is going with the story or take the time to make yet another call and make sure the story is right? I'd rather have my news accurate than sloppy. And, if they were reporting something about you, your company or family, you be outraged if they didn't get it right.

[Piers Fawkes]

Ian - Sky News, a major news outlet in the UK, was reporting Jackson news by reading from a blog. I think we have the right to expect better.

We need responsible AND fast reporting.

We criticize Old Media because they are out of touch with our evolving information needs. And what the heck is a news room making telephone calls when there are so many other methods to communicate these days?

And... Jackson is considered an Important Person not someone's granny. They should get the news out there as accurately as they can not sit on their arses in case they upset Michael's mum.

[Ian]

Piers and Soph: Clearly there is a tension between fast and accurate.

What's funny about all this is that TMZ - largely credited with breaking the story and confirming before anyone else dared - is owned by Time Warrner (the same Time Warner that owns CNN).

One big happy family.