Journalistic Taunting: The Social Media World In Which We Live

Social Media, especially Twitter is both the greatest thing there's ever been for breaking news, and the worst.  The upside is there is the ultimate in immediacy.  Everyone is a "reporter."  The downside is there is no filter, and little if any responsibility.  Another interesting aspect is it allows instant reactions from people, sometimes in high places, which gives a glimpse into their personalities.

Case in point, the recent Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare. The law itself was very complex, more than 2,000 pages.  Although there may have been more, I only know of one local reporter/anchor/host in the Paducah/Western Kentucky are, who actually read the entire 2,000+ page manuscript, Greg Dunker at WKYX-FM/AM.  I'm sure there were also plenty of reporters on the national level who never actually read for themselves the entire document for themselves.  That might be part of the reason two major news outlets, CNN and Fox News got it WRONG in originally reporting the individual mandate was struck down.  Both later issued statements, CNN in regretting the error and Fox, that it simply "reported the facts," although FOX,  in fact, misinterpreted the facts.

So they blew it.  In the meantime, Associated Press and other journalist, took to twitter, to taunt FOX and CNN.  So much so, David Scott, Regional Editor for AP, sent a memo ordering AP Journalist to stop taunting CNN and FOX on social media.  Kudos to Scott, even though he shouldn't have had to issue an order for his journalists to take the high road.

Also in the meantime, there was some official taunting.  Patrick Gaspard, the Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee gloated in a crude tweet, "Take THAT Motherfu*kers!"  He later deleted the tweet and replaced it with a slightly less crude, but equally gloating, sophomoric tweet, "It's Constitutional, Bitches!"

Both examples show us it's important to THINK before we REPORT, TWEET or EMAIL.  Sadly though, it seems many media outlets, in their race to be first with breaking news have cut corners and long standing journalistic prodeedures and adapted the philosophy of the fictional Ricky Bobby, of "Talladega Nights, "If you ain't first, you're last!"  If you're wrong.....well at least you were first!