To prove journalism is in the throes of ineptitude-related shock, please visit this article from the Irish Times. Fully realizing most of you are too busy for links, it’s about a student’s experiment that led to dozens of papers misquoting Maurice Jarre in his obituary.
That’s right. Let that sink in. Because “journalists” are so responsible, thoughtful and generally over-researching fiends, some kid’s fake quote added to Wikipedia can subsequently be quoted multiple times. Even without sources.
And they complain when no one reads their analog offerings…
Obituaries aren’t exactly front-page breaking news but this reveals a major flaw. More journalists than would probably admit are using the internet as a source without the assumed (and hoped for) scrutiny.
Whether the printed version of newspapers dies off or sees a resurgence, without responsible journalism, the “fourth estate” will fail. The internet is powerful and remarkable but should not replace the insight of a well-trained reporter. This sort of thing disgusts me on so many levels.
* meaning, of course, the opposite
Tags: journalism, online, social tools