Rumors and Responsibility

Kevin Zukerman
kz277505@ohio.edu

Blogging is becoming more and more a part of the mainstream media. Therefore, information can get out very quickly because it's an outlet that can be accessed at virtually any time.

• Brett Favre possibly coming out of retirement? That news first reported by a blog, then picked up by television.
• The Washington Capitals may have received steroids? Chalk that one up to blogs, too, before the story hit the wires.

Blogging, quite simply, is one of the fastest (if not the fastest) medium for journalists these days (I'm lumping twitter in as blogging here). So, it becomes extremely important that we get the story right immediately.

Accuracy, even when reporting rumors, is paramount. If your name is attached to it, misinformation could cause a journalists professional credibility to go downhill.

Some things to remember when reporting on blogs:

1. Blogging can have a huge impact. Whether it's a minor story or not, blogging gets it out quickly, so make sure it's accurate
2. Rumors and predictions can have their place in the blogging world, but they should definitely be labeled as such until the appropriate amount of source work and research has been done. There is nothing wrong with labeling something as rumor before it gets out as a legit story.