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‘Here’s the truth. We don’t know’: How false reports of Boston bombing…
‘Here’s the truth. We don’t know’: How false reports of Boston bombing arrest left media outlets scrambling.
New York
April 17, 2013
Ethical Issues
Because of the national attention surrounding the story news organizations feel the need to immediately report whatever information they receive. This opens up the pandora’s box of correction whenever the information turns out to be false.
None of these organizations dug deeper to find the truth and lies behind their information. They just took their sources at face value and trusted them without more sources backing them up.
This article breaks down the issue of racing out news stories as soon as information breaks. This article tells us about how after the Boston bombing there was a fury of news reporting around finding the bomber.
Different news organizations have different sources who are telling them all different things. This means dozens of articles and television reports are delivering conflicting information. In the short term they’re confusing their audience, and in the long term they're risking their credibility as a publication.
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Play devils advocate, what opposing view could be expressed
The consumer is known to be pretty impatient, needing the story right away. Without hearing anything at all many panic. With little bits of information being released over a long period of time, many find themselves assured that progress is being made.
Also competition is real. News organizations are always rushing to be the first to break a story so they get the most click or the highest ratings.
How could using a balance in research and reporting tactics have made a difference in the outcome of what was reported
If the news organizations who reported on this mess actually spent a little bit more time digging a little deeper, either confirming or debunking information, they would’ve came out of this situation looking a lot better. People trust their news sources to tell the truth. so when fact checking is left out of the process, the credibility of the publication is thrown into shambles.
I also think if reporters were more transparent about how they got their information, it’s reliability, and their intentions behind reporting it so quickly. A lot of people would have understood and not have gotten their hopes so high because they would have known the information they were receiving could change at anytime. Being transparent develops a sense of trust between the reporter and the audience.
What is your opinion about the issue, and what caused you to form that opinion
However I believe journalist need to weigh the all the possible outcomes of delivering a story before they actually deliver it.
A reporter may deliver a piece of good news and reassure the nation on a pressing topic. However, if that information is found to be incorrect many are going to feel disappointed or even worse, defeated.
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Also journalist must ask themselves if reporting unconfirmed information is worth risking their credibility for.