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.