Bad for Breaking Bad News?
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 by Rob Brown
A few months ago I wrote about discovering via twitter that the French actor Guillaume Depardieu had died. Six months ago it seemed an oddity that ordinary individuals would break news ahead of the major media sources. It appears now that this is an established phenomenon. The sad news of Natasha Richardson’s fatal skiing accident was spread via twitter, blogs and social networks long before the strictures of the established media allowed them to confirm the details.
At around 4pm UTC today (19th May) twitter started trending with the news that actor Patrick Swayze had died of pancreatic cancer. But within half an hour or so the story had flipped to a denial. The actor it appears is alive if unwell and continuing his battle against cancer.
Whilst trending topics on the web add a new dimension to breaking news inaccurate rumours can take hold. The established media brands adhere to a largely common set of journalistic conventions that moderate the motivation to break news fast with the imperative of accuracy. That’s why they are trusted.
