4 ms·

The way to fix this problem is easy. Cite your sources. "According to a Boston beat cop...", "According to a high-ranking FBI agent..." I am SO sick of hear

The way to fix this problem is easy. Cite your sources. "According to a Boston beat cop...", "According to a high-ranking FBI agent..." I am SO sick of hear "according to a source" because they don't want to clue in other news organizations. There was a time when news reporters considered their jobs partially a civic duty. Protecting sources solely for selfish reasons has completely diluted the concept of these "unnamed sources".

k-mcgrady 14y ago
This doesn't really fix the problem in television news. Most of the reports I watched cited sources but regularly preceded 'information' with "we can't confirm this but...". Another problem is that the media outlets are citing each other and when one media source spreads false information suddenly all media outlets are spreading it citing the original false information source.
corresation 14y ago
I am SO sick of hear "according to a source" because they don't want to clue in other news organizations. Reporters anonymize to protect sources, which in the Western world generally means "keeping them from getting fired" (in much of the world it means "keeping them from getting fired at"). Here's the thing -- either you trust that the reporter/organization has good sources (that they've worked them for long enough that they know that their information is good), or you don't. Adding decorative details on the source (such as "beat cop") does little to support the claims, as often the people who want to talk the most are often the people with the least information. Which is why it is virtually worthless to listen to random people on Reddit making claims that they cite as backed by their own sources ("my uncle who is a xyz says that..."). I have absolutely no reason to believe the Reddit poster is telling the truth, and even if they were I have no reason to believe that their source is telling the truth. The world is full of liars and bullshitters. Add in the well-meaning people who "fill in the unknowns" to make the story more interesting....it's just a sea of noise that is overwhelmingly wrong. It's unfortunate that now traditional media feels that they need to fight this static by embracing it (the most laughable being reporters reading "tweets" on topics), the net result being the lowest common denominator for all.
rythie 14y ago
Except when the news puts up source:YouTube which is fairly meaningless.
uxp 14y ago
Late yesterday evening as the entire event was winding to a close, I sat on @BostonGlobe's twitter page while listening to the audio stream. Every tweet they put out was nearly identical to what was coming from the scanner audio, prefixed with "A source says ...". The reason it was only "a source" was because no one except the dispatcher and other cops on scene knew exactly who was saying what. It's just some voice coming over the radio who is assumed to be a cop.

k-mcgrady 14y ago

This doesn't really fix the problem in television news. Most of the reports I watched cited sources but regularly preceded 'information' with "we can't confirm this but...". Another problem is that the media outlets are citing each other and when one media source spreads false information suddenly all media outlets are spreading it citing the original false information source.

corresation 14y ago

I am SO sick of hear "according to a source" because they don't want to clue in other news organizations. Reporters anonymize to protect sources, which in the Western world generally means "keeping them from getting fired" (in much of the world it means "keeping them from getting fired at"). Here's the thing -- either you trust that the reporter/organization has good sources (that they've worked them for long enough that they know that their information is good), or you don't. Adding decorative details on the source (such as "beat cop") does little to support the claims, as often the people who want to talk the most are often the people with the least information. Which is why it is virtually worthless to listen to random people on Reddit making claims that they cite as backed by their own sources ("my uncle who is a xyz says that..."). I have absolutely no reason to believe the Reddit poster is telling the truth, and even if they were I have no reason to believe that their source is telling the truth. The world is full of liars and bullshitters. Add in the well-meaning people who "fill in the unknowns" to make the story more interesting....it's just a sea of noise that is overwhelmingly wrong. It's unfortunate that now traditional media feels that they need to fight this static by embracing it (the most laughable being reporters reading "tweets" on topics), the net result being the lowest common denominator for all.

rythie 14y ago

Except when the news puts up source:YouTube which is fairly meaningless.

uxp 14y ago

Late yesterday evening as the entire event was winding to a close, I sat on @BostonGlobe's twitter page while listening to the audio stream. Every tweet they put out was nearly identical to what was coming from the scanner audio, prefixed with "A source says ...". The reason it was only "a source" was because no one except the dispatcher and other cops on scene knew exactly who was saying what. It's just some voice coming over the radio who is assumed to be a cop.