As an aunt to one of the teenagers killed in the SUV crash, Jordan Hodgin, I have to say the News & Record and other media sources were completely irresponsible on their reports of the crash.
In order to get the "sensationalized" version of the story, you didn't wait for the blood test or official reports before you slandered the families involved in the crash. I don't care if the information came from the Highway Patrol during the first 15 minutes of the accident, you should have waited for the blood test to come in for the correct version. There was not a single item found in the car or consumed by the kids to have made that assumption.
Blame yourselves and take responsibility for your own reporting instead of the guesswork of other people.
Jill Murray
Greensboro
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Comments (3)
Amen
Posted by mr t | March 29, 2005 11:02 AM
I agree, it's better to be late and accurate than first and wrong.
For one thing, blogs and news sites can scoop you any time of the day. Print news needs to adapt to these new circumstances. You need to focus on accuracy instead of speed.
Means a big change in how you work, but in the long run it should pay off.
And Jill, my condolences on your loss.
Posted by Alan Kellogg | March 29, 2005 12:06 PM
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld put it best during a news conference when asked about some wild-eyed news report of doom and gloom:
"They're more interesting in getting it first than in getting it right."
Inaccurate, sensational news is Page One, retractions and apologies are Page B-8 or something.
Posted by JayCeeNC | March 29, 2005 5:14 PM