more bad news making

after the rather abysmal performance of the news media in reporting myths, rumor and speculation as news during hurricane katrina, the media again gets another tragic story wrong...

unsurprisingly, cnn's latest flavor of the month, self-appointed mourner-in-chief anderson cooper 'owns' the story

tv news blog mediabistro gathers early reaction to the flubbed coverage while editor&publisher covers the dead tree coverage

update [~3pm]: former cnn producer Tom Farmer (who avoids the cowardly anonymous schtick) wonders what happened to the basic reportorial question 'How do you know?'

Who demanded a second source? Who held back pending more official confirmation? By uncritically and breathlessly relaying shouted bulletins from sprinting family members, the cable celebs transubstantiated rumor into fact. Reporting means asking questions and making cautious judgments, not just repeating things you hear....
[snip]
And we wonder why the audience believes less and less mainstream media coverage. It's literally unbelievable.

¶ - nitish @ 9:23 AM