Vineland’s Newspaper Editorial Standards
The blogosphere first got national attention with Rathergate during the 2004 presidential election. Critics of the bloggers who debunked the fabricated evidence CBS anchor Dan Rather used on his hit piece of President Bush was that bloggers do not go through an editorial process, therefore there are/can be mistakes in what bloggers report. That is certainly true. The problem for MSM, however, is that their editorial oversight doesn’t always work. I have highlighted any number of issues over the years when the MSM has appeared more amateurish than the pajamas media.
And it isn’t getting any better.
My local newspaper, The Daily Journal, has entered the social networking scene. It has a Twitter account and it is pumping its In Jersey web site, a site full of blurbs, flickr and YouTube streams, etc.
On Thursday, 9 July 2009, there was a serious accident on Oak Road and Ramblewood in Vineland. For the record, this is directly across from The Daily Journal’s offices. As The Daily Journal reported on Friday:
At least one person needed medical treatment Thursday after a pickup truck reportedly slammed into a van, according to eyewitness accounts.
. . .
Witnesses said the pickup truck went airborne after hitting the van and then rolled over two or three times after landing on the ground.
It sounds awful. The photograph that accompanied the article shows a smashed up car on someone’s front lawn.
Do you want to know how The Daily Journal really thinks about this accident? All one has to do is read The Daily Journal’s Twitter feed. At 6:06 on 9 July, immediately following this accident, this tweet was sent:
It’s nice when news comes to you. We just had a serious crash outside our Oak Road office. Details and pics to come.
Why is a reporter commenting about how nice it is that a serious accident took place?
There appears to be no editing regarding the Twitter account.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Mayland's Center of Population Benchmark - 2008
- The Boys of Summer - 2007
- Corzine Conducts Business As Usual - 2006
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond - 2006
- Recommended Reading - 2006
- Slippage - 2005
- Derek Trucks Band - 1999
- H.O.R.D.E. - 1992
Tags: Cumberland, Media, NJ, social-network, Vineland
By Boner Boy
on 12 July 2009 @ 22:56
Your lede insinuates that the main stream media often attacks the blogosphere about its accuracy while not being wholly accurate itself.
The tweet isn’t inaccurate at all. Sure, it’s a little disconcerting that they included information about a serious accident and the word “nice,” (though I think you took it out of context) but it is still accurate.
By Bob
on 12 July 2009 @ 23:39
What editor approved the commentary? That’s the point. The Daily Journal admits it was wrong.
Editorial oversight would have prevented that comment from being made publicly. The lack of the editing process put a mainstream news source in the same playground the rest of us are in.