False Reports in Boston Bombing: an Ethical Dilemma

The Boston marathon bombing featured numerous reports of unconfirmed and false information, a growing and unethical trend among the journalism community

Political Cartoon of the Week depicting the instant misinformation reported during the Boston bombing incident (via About.com)

Story by: Jamie Soule

It is now well known that several of the news reports during the Boston bombing incident were false, and it seems that no one was surprised by that. What happened to dignified, accurate journalism?

Since the advent of ubiquitous internet access, smart phones and social media, our news has never been faster. However, with all that information comes more misinformation. Before the onset of these media accelerators, journalists were careful to report only the hard facts, with confirmation and attribution.

Bad Reporting

Reporting during the Boston bombings was “atrocious,” according to the Associate Professor and Chair of Minnesota State University’s mass media department, Mavis Richardson. “We need to stop and check the sources–at least one source,” she said. “And with looking at blogs, especially when you don’t know the writer and what their credentials are, how do you know that information is correct?”

Richardson said that reporting information that has gone unchecked by a credible source can cause unnecessary confusion, “creating fear where fear does not need to be at this point.”

Creating that fear can be detrimental to certain individuals or groups involved. For example, an innocent individual was reported as a suspect during the Boston bombing, and only hours later was found dead. Emily Boyd, associate professor of the sociology department at MSU, hesitantly referred to it as a “witch hunt.”

“This man was not a terrorist, and the media cycle, creating this atmosphere among the public obviously resulted in the loss of his life,” Boyd said. “To me, that is a very tangible representation of how people can get the fear level that’s elevated through the media, and the discussion online of who’s to blame can get really out of hand.”

The problem, then, is that media consumers are looking to place blame.

“It creates this folk devil in the mind of the consumer that there’s this group, this other, that we can attach all this evil to, that they are the cause of all the bad things happening in our culture,” Boyd said. Instead, that encourages us not to look at ourselves to see what we are doing to affect the situation, according to Boyd.

In response to the new age of instant information, Boyd said, “Being in the information age really changes our perception of what is frightening or what level should we be afraid.”

Screen shot of Huffington Post’s video compilation of false reports during the Boston bombing (Video provided below).

Big networks like CNN and Fox News, more so than smaller media outlets, are concentrated on getting the information out first, regardless of whether it is true. Richardson cited CNN as being worse than Fox, in this case, as the outlet pulled various information from social media sites like Twitter and then later reporting that the information was incorrect.

“Granted, it’s broadcast. It’s media,” Richardson said. “But do you want it out there?”

Richardson agreed that it is important to keep misinformation, rumors in particular, out of the media reports. “The public is willing to wait a little bit so that you can check it out because we do want correct information,” she said.

Attribution is Important

The best way to go about it, according to Richardson, is to attribute everything to a source. If it is necessary to put the information out there while it is still unconfirmed, then it must be identified as a rumor. Attributing the information to a source, whether it be another media outlet, is very important.

“Journalists share information in a crisis,” Richardson said. “So it is very important, I think, that you identify that you are still working on [getting confirmation] and if it is correct, I would identify a media source as one of your sources in addition to.”

It seems that various types of crises, including natural disasters and terrorism, are increasing in occurrence these days, or at least our coverage of them. That is all the more reason to be prepared and have a plan in place for reporting on those crisis situations, Richardson said.

“Because the bombings, the terrorism, national security, all of this is so much a part of our everyday life now, we should have a plan in place,” Richardson said. “When you’re in the middle of something like this, sometimes your common sense kind of flies out the window a little bit.”

Richardson explained that when a journalist is pressured under these circumstances, it becomes more difficult to find confirmed information because of all the rumors amid the chaos. She said it is important to keep a specific list of sources to go to in a crisis and to be organized in getting the information put together while avoiding the various rumors circulating in other media outlets.

On the other hand, Boyd was not entirely sure that reporting the rumors as such is enough.

“The way that we flip, the way that we pick up information, we may not hear those disclaimers,” she said. “So, it is really important for us to remember to be media savvy ourselves and not just depend on them to give us those cues, but to already have that filter.”

Nonstop Coverage

The bad reporting didn’t stop with Monday’s bombings. In fact, it continued through Friday with the police chasing the suspect. Richardson acknowledged that “Big Brother is watching” as media outlets were able to use the satellite feature of Google Maps to find the boat Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hiding in. Not only was this arguable infringement of privacy alarming to Richardson, but also the fact that media outlets reported on the incident nonstop for several hours.

“They could have broken in at any time and said that police have him and then come back to live coverage,” Richardson suggested. “But we went for more than two hours with absolutely no information.”

Richardson added that she thought this continuous coverage without new information may have added to more fear in the residential area. Instead of reporting the way they did, Richardson suggested “a little breaking news, occasionally, instead of doing the OJ Simpson chase—an hour and a half of watching a white Bronco go down the highway. Plan your coverage; you don’t have to be the first to break it,” she said.

Boyd also agreed that the 24-hour coverage can create more undue fear in the community. The problem is that the media outlets continue to talk about the event without new information, basically restating what has already been stated and not answering any questions or concerns of the public.

“I think that can lead to more tension to the media consumer, because there is all this unresolved fear out there,” Boyd said.

To see some of the most common mistakes reported during the Boston bombing, check out this compilation by the Huffington Post:

Social Media Fiends

Social media was prevalent in the Boston bombings coverage. Richardson was not surprised with the magnitude of social media influence on this incident. Richardson said, “It really came to the point this time showing me how pervasive social media is. This is the first time where I really see it’s more the ordinary citizen, for example, contributing to media.”

Personally, I happened to be on my Tweet Deck when the Boston bombing occurred and noticed various initial reports through my following. So I searched the hashtag #Bostonmarathon. It was dizzying, to say the least. The tweets flashed before my eyes: 60 or more tweets per second. I had to remove the hashtag, as it was so distracting and difficult to sort through.

Thousands of tweets circulated the internet that day and continued through the week, and law enforcement used this to its advantage in identifying and catching the two suspects. According to Richardson, “It definitely was aiding law enforcement, because we had all these different pictures and videos from various angles and they were able to identify two of them.”

However, Richardson had mixed feelings about the use of social media and added, “But then again, it hurts when you’ve got misinformation—rumors that are going around and media are picking up on it without checking it and other people passing it around without checking the source or attributing it to a source.” She said that simply attributing the various information to a source could have put a stop to some of the rumors that were going around as well as “putting it into context.”

Boyd had her own positive experience with social media, finding out within ten minutes of the bombing that one of her friends who was running in the race was safe, thanks to a posting on Facebook.

“That’s kind of amazing, so I can marvel at that, and that’s a really positive part about social media,” Boyd said. “And then I was like, ‘Oh god, here we go again’—that was my second reaction.”

So what is in our future with our social media relationship and citizen journalism? Well, expect that Twitter and the like will be there to deliver the crisis minute-by-minute.

“Social media will be there for the next one—I can guarantee that,” Richardson said. “Is it going to be the same chaos? We’ll see. We’ll see if we learn from the mistakes of this particular incident.”

What is FALSE

Among the many unconfirmed and false reports, here are the main myths:

• Third bombing at JFK Library related
• 12 people were killed by the explosions
• 5 other bomb packages found
• Cell phone service was shut down to prevent detonation of other bombs
• Saudi Arabian suspect in custody the day of the bombings
• Little girl among the 3 dead
• Zooey Deschanel of The New Girl identified as suspect in bombing

What is TRUE

At this point, the following information has been confirmed:

Victims of Boston boming incident. Top left: Krystle Campbell, Top Right: Martin Richard, Bottom Left: Sean Collier, Bottom Right: Lu Lingzi (via Philly.com)

• 3 people died in Monday’s bombings (Martin Richard, 8; Lu Lingzi, 23; Krystle Campbell, 29)
• 264 people were injured
• MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, 26, shot down by suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
• 2 nationalized Americans from Chechnya planted 2 bombs in backpacks on Boylston Street during the Boston marathon
• Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, is dead after being wounded in gunfire exchange with police
• Other suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is charged with using weapons of mass destruction and faces the death penalty

The Boston bombing presents us with a great example of what not to do when reporting on a crisis. Journalists need to keep in mind their fundamental duty: Get the facts.

Of course, it is also important to remember that it is natural for media consumers to be interested and concerned about situations like the Boston bombing.

“We all are interested, and you can’t change that when something like this happens,” Boyd said. “But just be a little bit cautious in accepting all this information as fact. Accept that this is what they’re telling us, but wait a minute to really draw our conclusions. It takes a while to have a fair and just investigation of these things.”

Poisoning the Press Author to Visit MSU, Mankato

Investigative journalist Mark Feldstein will lecture students in “Poisoning the Press: The Media and Washington’s Scandal Culture”

Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington’s Modern Scandal Culture
By Mark Feldstein (Photo from Macmillan website)

Story by: Jamie Soule

Mankato, MINN.—The scandal culture of Nixon’s presidential term described in Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington’s Scandal Culture will be presented by its author Mark Feldstein as part of Media Day at Minnesota State University, Mankato on Apr. 16 at 7 p.m.

Mark Feldstein is an experienced investigative journalist and award-winning author (Photo from UMD website)

Feldstein’s lecture, titled “Poisoning the Press: The Media and Washington’s Scandal Culture,” will comment on the points of his 2010 national award-winning book. Poisoning the Press examines the government’s conspiracy against the press, specifically during the Watergate scandal between President Nixon and columnist Jack Anderson. According to the book publisher’s comments, “[The Nixon administration’s] vendetta symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the government and the press, a clash that would long outlive both men.”

Feldstein worked as an investigative journalist for 20 years with two of the “Big 4” networks, CNN and ABC. He is now the Richard Eaton Broadcast Journalism Professor at the University of Maryland.

As an investigative journalist, Feldstein has endured punishments internationally for disclosing information. He was detained and censored by Egyptian authorities and escorted out of Haiti by armed guards. His published information has also led to resignations, firings, multi-million dollar fines and prison terms.

Feldstein has also testified as an expert witness on First Amendment issues in court and before Congress. He has published in papers like the Washington Post and peer-reviewed journals such as American Journalism Review.

MSU’s Media Day scholarship reception will begin at 3 p.m. in CSU 253-5. Afterward, Feldstein will address journalism students and the Society of Professional Journalists from 4 to 5 p.m. in the same location before his lecture in the auditorium. All of these events are free.

Feldstein’s visit to MSU is possible thanks to a grant from the Nadine B. Andreas Foundation.

Feldstein’s “Poisoning the Press” lecture will be held in Ostrander Auditorium on Tuesday, Apr. 16 at 7 p.m.

Contact: Jamie Soule
MSU Mass Media Student
jamie.soule@mnsu.edu

Tips for How to Create Great Audio News Pieces

As silence can speak volumes, so can sound when properly recorded and mixed

RCA 44 (Photo credit: Wired Photostream)

Story by: Jamie Soule

Last week, I explored Poynter’s News University online and enrolled in its “Telling Stories with Sound” one-hour program to learn, well, how to tell stories with sound.

The class features an interactive course in which I will eventually create an audio news piece with various sounds I collect throughout the presentation. The basic format was a chronological examination of recording a story for audio purposes: planning, out in the field and in the studio.

The most important note I took away from the first section, planning, was this: “Producing an effective narrative starts with extensive planning.” Basically, when you’re going to make an audio piece, you can’t just go out and start recording—you have to plan what you are going to record, and that happens at every step of the recording process.

Planning

Before even deciding what to record, you have to decide if the story is even viable to be an audio piece. The course suggests brainstorming and making a list of all the possible sounds that could be recorded for the story. Then, scouting the location will help narrow down the list of sounds as well as providing an opportunity to test out equipment, which is very important.

After preparing for actual recording, it is vital to make sure there is a backup for failed technology, such as extra batteries or recording discs prior to recording. Knowing the environment and what types of microphones to use is also important, and this course features a few slides of different types of microphones and their specialties.

Recording

The key thing to keep in mind is that you want to create a narrative. Therefore, choosing the right people to talk to is a must. You want someone who is going to give you descriptive, meaningful answers to your questions, so word them in a way that will optimize open-ended answers from your speakers.

Another important note this course touched on that I found helpful is collecting extra audio, specifically natural, ambient and supplemental sound. There is a distinction between natural and ambient sound. The way I think of it is: Natural sound is action noise and ambient sound is background noise. Both of these can make or break an audio piece, all depending on how it is recorded and used; the most important thing to keep in mind is the quality of the recording. Aside from natural and ambient sound, supplemental music can also help an audio piece.

Editing

After what seems to be the daunting task of recording audio for the story, which is only half the work, all of that sound must be edited and spliced together in the studio. The process can be a work of art if given the time and thought. During this time the narration and voiceovers for the script is recorded, of which the course highlighted a few tips:

• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid wearing jewelry and clothing that makes noise
• Avoid “popping” p’s
• Pretend you’re telling the story to a friend (for a conversational tone)

Though I had some technological complications with getting the final activity to work correctly, the overall course was very informative and helpful.

What’s in her bag (unpacked) (Photo credit: tychay)

In today’s era of backpack journalism, it is essential for journalists to be able to work with all types of technology that can be included online, which includes audio.

The greatest point about all of this is that this course was 100% free, one of those great trends on the Internet these days.

Online Journalism at its Finest: Las Vegas Sun Pulitzer Prize Winner

Las Vegas Sun’s coverage of construction deaths on the Las Vegas Strip exemplifies the benefits of online journalism

CityCenter Construction, Las Vegas (Photo credit: Rob Young)

Story by: Jamie Soule

In today’s world of seamless and instant information online, it can be difficult to keep up with audience demands. That’s why the Las Vegas Sun’s online coverage of construction deaths on the Las Vegas Strip is so incredible, and its 2009 Pulitzer award is rightfully owned.

The Sun was successful in utilizing many of the advantages to online journalism covered in James Foust’s text. The main idea to keep in mind when doing a project like this is that online users have short attention spans; therefore, the information needs to be quick and easy to access and to understand.

Picket Line @ City Center, Las Vegas (Photo credit: Rob Young)

Not only did the Sun write full articles every time there was an incident, but it also included videos, a photo gallery and interactive media to keep the reader interested—a very important detail, especially with something so extensive and sensitive to the community. In fact, that is why the Sun won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, because getting the community involved helped make a change in the safety concerns of the construction businesses and ultimately prevented more deaths from happening.

What I enjoyed most was the interactive map the site provided, detailing the deaths of each worker with such facts as how the person died and what happened with the citations of violations issued for that death. I watched the “Cost of Expansion” video first, which is something I would expect for someone who has not been following the story from the beginning; the video was very effective in creating empathy for the families and generating a general interest while giving an overall introduction to the topic. Though the automated slide show option for the photo gallery was too fast for reading the captions, the gallery itself was also a helpful addition to the story.

Although the number of links is a little overwhelming, they are a great addition to the site as a whole, allowing the user a one-stop shop for information: There are archived stories, blog posts, extra videos and slide shows dedicated to the topic, allowing the user to find a multitude of facts and stories via his or her preferred medium. The site also provides an RSS feed for updates on posts; however, feed access to, specifically, the Topic: Construction Deaths page is not available. I was also unsuccessful in finding a link to any sort of Facebook page for this topic, which could have been even more helpful in an outcry for support from the public.

If I were to suggest changes to the layout or features of the site, earlier in the coverage I would have included the above mentioned Facebook page to increase awareness. Also mentioned previously was the fact that the links to other media were overwhelming, which could easily be fixed by creating thicker dividing lines and headlines, creating bigger video icons, and making a greater visual distinction between multimedia content and ad content.

I wouldn’t change the story in any way. After all, the writers did win a Pulitzer Prize for their work, which is something I am not qualified to criticize, nor would I be interested in doing so. The Sun was very deserving in that respect, as the staff put together an incredible project that a number of people from different technological perspectives could appreciate.

Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University (left), presents the 2009 Public Service prize to (l-r) Alexandra Berzon, Michael Kelley and Brian Greenspun of the Las Vegs Sun. (Photo from Pulitzer Prize website)

Minnesota’s Special Education Rising, Putting Burden on Public Schools

School districts left under-funded as number of students and costs increase

Story by: Jamie Soule

State and federal funding shortfalls have caused local public schools to cover the remaining expenses of special education.

The state is responsible for 50% of special education costs, while federal is responsible for 40%, according to the Minnesota Department of Education. Last year, local districts should have only spent $144 million, but they spent $595 million instead, a $353 million difference.

Because of cutbacks in mental health programs, public schools have had to take over the burden of instructing disabled students. However, spending in special education programs has increased more than 70% in the last 10 years.

Public schools are not allowed to cut funding in special education programs without documentation of decreased enrollment. Therefore, the increasing bills have caused schools to cut other programs, such as art and music.

Earlier this year, Governor Mark Dayton proposed an increase in the budget for special education by $62.4 million per year.

Districts have also asked for help from voters, which has been successful in some districts but not in others. St. Paul voters approved a bill for $39 million to wedge the 37% funding gap. However, in Minneapolis the funding gap remains at $34 million, while the administration is considering a $25 million budget cut, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Disabled Children on the Rise

A special education teacher assists one of her students. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though some disabilities are declining, many have increased by substantial margins. In the last decade:

• Physical and other health disabilities up by 94%

• Severely multiply impaired students is up to 1,299 (from 0 in 2001)

• Autistic student numbers increased 446%

• Total number of students diagnosed with disabilities increased 14%, from 112,903 in 2001 to 128,430 students in 2012

Public vs. Intermediate Controversy

The controversy lies in the long-term effects of segregation. Public school officials feel it is necessary for special needs students to mingle with regular students. However, schools that instruct only disabled students feel it is safer both for students and staff to have them separated.

Parents and administrators alike fear that public school officials cannot accommodate special needs students. Private space, special instruction and competent staff are necessities and need ample funding.

Mistreatment of disabled students in public schools has also been the picket of debate lately. The state investigates about 80 cases of disabled students’ rights violations each year.

On the other hand, disabled students segregated into intermediate schools are less likely to ever integrate into a public school setting, deterring the possibility of independence.

The cost for a disabled student to attend a so-called intermediate district school averages more than $50,000 per year, with some more than $150,000 per year. Annual cost for special needs students in a public school averages $22,144, while a general education student averages $8,486.

Intermediate Schools in Minnesota

The differences between a public school and an intermediate district varies, but the emphasis is on the humanity and safety of the student.

North Education Center is a $35-million specialized facility that opened last fall. There, students have access to a range of things they wouldn’t find in a public school:

• Timeout room (some with a revolving mood light)
• Carpeted classroom
  –Contains swing and/or rocking chairs
• Smartboard with Concentration-like videogame
• Customized tricycle to ride in hallways
• 100+ video cameras in 40+ locations

All of the above amenities are to emphasize relaxation to prevent violent outbursts.

North Education Center, located in New Hope, has 450 students and 250 staff members and is one of four new centers in the metro area.

Oscar Winners — A Brief Summary

Among Seth MacFarlane’s jokes and Jennifer Lawrence’s fall, stars received their much-anticipated trophies

Academy Award Winner (Photo credit: Dave_B_)

Story by: Jamie Soule

This year’s Oscars ceremony was the 85th anniversary of the Academy Awards. The highlights are as follows:

• Best Picture: “Argo,” Ben Affleck
• Best Director: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi“
• Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln“
• Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained“
• Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook“
• Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables“

With Jack Nicholson, First Lady Michelle Obama via the White House helped hand Ben Affleck the award for his film’s best picture, “Argo.” The film took away 3 trophies at the Oscars.

“Life of Pi,” directed by Ang Lee, won 4 awards. The best director’s win over Steven Spielberg and his movie “Lincoln” was a major upset.

And yet, no one can forget Jennifer Lawrence’s graceful trip up the stairs as she accepted her award for best actress. Host Seth MacFarlane gave her a break on that slip-up, despite his attack on many other A-listers.

The State of the Tweet Nation

Twitterati at the White House Tweet-Up for the State of the Union Address (Photo credit: Librarian In Black)

The State of the Union address is an important event for this country’s society, and it has been for years. But, the key difference recently has been the way we watch the speech—some of us don’t even have to watch it at all! In the era of instantaneous news and messaging, social media sites like Twitter have made it more convenient than ever to get not only the president’s speech, but the reaction to it as well as even more information about the points that have been made.

A majority of today’s smartphone users have some sort of social media account that gives them even more access to information that can also include video and other media. On Twitterfall, which acts as a real-time feed of trending tweets, this year’s State of the Union ushered thousands of responses by people all over the country. That all can get overwhelming with more than 50 tweets per second. In fact, there were reports of more than a million tweets during the State of the Union this year.

Only ten years ago, most people traditionally sat in front of their home television sets (possibly still using tube technology) to watch George W. Bush give his State of the Union speech. It was a matter of planning and being somewhere near a television screen; you had to physically move yourself to a certain location in order to watch it. That is not the case anymore. As one Twitter user tweeted just as the event was about to begin, “I usually watch this from my house, but tonight I’m watching it from the #whitehouse #SOTU.”

Twitter users were significant in providing coverage of this year’s State of the Union. Whether they were reciting parts of the president’s speech or remarking on House Speaker John Boehner’s lack of enthusiasm, users tweeted the speech to their peers—or at least the most important parts of it. Various posts of live video were added among the quotes and witty comments, as well as diagrams and other relevant facts to such topics as unemployment and domestic oil production. Even before the day of the speech, the link #SOTU provided many sources to information regarding what the State of the Union was going to address this year.

With something so media-intensive, it is important to have the ability to interact during the event because it opens the opportunity for more information. It may be possible that over the course of time, and as technology like smartphones become more pervasive, such Internet sites as Twitter could become a primary medium of distribution, and not just for the State of the Union, but also for events like the presidential elections or even the Olympics.

A Glimpse into the Future of News in Page One: Inside the New York Times

Before the Internet, printed news used to be a varietal job, as seen in Journalism: A 1940 educational film in print journalism. Beginning journalists were generally young and agile, able to work long hours and in harsh conditions. Editors and publishers all had many years of experience and specialized knowledge in certain fields. And then, most of all, there was the actual printing of the paper, which has its own procedures and variety of specialized workers. The point is–printing the news was a physical and mechanical job.

New York, NY. Newsroom of the New York Times newspaper. Reporters and rewrite men writing stories, and waiting to be sent out. Rewrite man in background gets the story on the phone from reporter outside. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though what is most amusing in this antique video is the limited roles of women; those roles were confined to writing about entertainment, cooking and housework. That is clearly different today; journalists are prized for being more of a “jack of all trades” rather than an expert in only a few certain areas. What used to be known as an “outside journalist” (because of the constant travel for interviews) has now become a “backpack journalist,” able to not only interview the source, but also to write the story and maybe even take a photo or video.

Aside from the general characteristics of the journalist, the Internet has thrown a curveball into the realm of journalism, causing a ripple effect in every medium of distribution. The video Page One: Inside the New York Times puts into perspective just how much of an effect the Internet has had on newspapers in particular, specifically legacy giants such as the New York Times. However, it was interesting to find that contrary to popular belief (that all newspapers will be extinct by sometime in the next decade or so), some companies have been able to take advantage of the shift from print to web. Though the “legacy” newspaper New York Times had to make cuts in certain areas of production, it has still been able to build a network on the Internet through charging a subscription fee.

But what is even more amazing is what has blossomed out of this boom of information, and that is the evolution of what truly can now be free press. You don’t have to pay for news, aside from your monthly internet bill or traveling expense to the library. In fact, I can even get the latest news sent to my phone while I am driving out in the middle of nowhere. More common, my laptop’s homepage features the top headlines, ranging from worldwide to entertainment news.

The Digital Age today has made it easier for everyone to keep up with the latest news, which is often personalized to every individual’s tastes and values. Even more astounding is how news has become available and more appealing to younger generations; the news isn’t just for ma and pa with their morning coffee—it’s for working young people and even teenagers in high school.

The scary thing, though, is that this spread of readership has also spurred a new generation of journalism, both good and bad. Now that our news is instantaneous, the facts that are represented in the material are not subject to accuracy until after the information has already been leaked. There still are the few muckraker journalists who try to uncover the lies and deceit of businesses and powerful forces, and to be accurate in doing so. However, there are many more journalists and bloggers who are just trying to get the newest information out to the public the fastest, with no regard as to whether the information is in fact true; that is the disconcerting development in recent years.

On either side, though, the revolution of journalism in the Digital Age is far from over, with new technologies emerging every day and constantly changing the way we receive and perceive news.