News "In the News." A look back at the good, the bad and the F-Bomb.

From Boston to Bismark, the news business came in for some serious scrutiny this past week. It started with coverage of the bombings in Boston and ended with arguably the biggest faux pas in broadcast news history.

Just a week ago, reports started to surface from traditional and digital news outlets, and of course Social Media that the suspect(s) in the terror attacks were in custody. To their credit most news outlets cited, fairly, "sources close to the investigation." Having spent a couple of decades in the news business, if you trust your sources you go with the story and you don't have to name them. Especially if more than one confirms things.

But in a case like Boston, when there are multiple law enforcement agencies involved, there's a lot of stepping on toes. But the word was out, they got the bad guys. BREAKING NEWS!

Wrong. Oops.

To his credit, one reporter, NBC News Justice Correspondent Pete Williams wasn't so quick to pull the trigger. Something wasn't adding up. He opted not to be first, but accurate. So he was one of the very few that held back until he could truly nail down if it was really true. Of course it wasn't and a lot of news outlets ended up with egg on their faces.

Pete Williams-NBC News

I wasn't surprised by the way Pete handled things. We both started our news careers in Wyoming. I was News Director at KGWN-TV in Cheyenne while Pete ran things up at KTWO in Casper. I got to know him professionally and he was/is one solid no-nonsense journalist. (Although he has a terrific wit!) Pete was also my predecessor on the board of directors of the Radio-Television-News Directors Association.

Pete's career later took him to Washington to work for then Congressman Dick Cheney. Pete and I got together a few times when I was in town. Always a great experience. Good journalist, even better guy. Later when Cheney became Secretary of Defense. he wisely chose Pete to become Deputy Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, aka Pentagon Spokesman. Anyone who saw his media briefings could see he was a "cool hand" under pressure. I interviewed Secretary Cheney several times and anytime I was at the Pentagon Pete was just terrific to work with in arranging things.

Pete stayed in Washington, joining NBC News. Essentially he made the leap to network news from Casper, Wyoming. Not the usual "work your way up the ladder" route but his experience working with Dick Cheney was invaluable.

Now as a consumer of news, I have to know who to trust. Pete Williams is among a very small group of journalists I do trust.

Well done Pete. But wait, there's more!

Then came the "F-Bomb" heard 'round the world. As I mentioned earlier, Pete and I started out in small markets. It's the way things work. Start small and work your way up. Such was the case with A.J. Clemente, launching his career as a news anchor in Bismark, ND. His first words on the air weren't "Good evening." Far from it. Instead not one, but two words you never, ever say on live TV. He's now a former news anchor, fired after his first and only newscast. Frankly, I was stunned when I saw it. (On Social Media of course) The most important rule in live TV is "The mic is always on." We all make mistakes, including me and I do hope he learns his lesson and gets another chance.

(Warning! Strong language)

Stark contrasts in how do to, and not do things. Maybe A.J. should watch Pete Williams for a while.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

Boston Coverage. Immediacy? Yes. Accuracy? Not so much.

I first saw, make that heard about the events in Boston in a pretty traditional way. Television. The set was tuned to Shep Smith on FOX News. He always includes the proviso in his open saying, "Unless breaking news changes everything."

Boy did his show rundown change. I heard sirens in the background, yelling from crowds of people. After a minute or so I walked over and saw what was happening. Two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Explosions. Death. Deja Vu all over again.

All the networks immediately went into "Wall to Wall" mode, i.e. non-stop coverage. So did Social Media. Facebook and Twitter blew up, with much of what was posted right from the scene by people who saw and felt it happen. Talk about "Eyewitness News."

As was the case with recent events like Newtown, the information being posted on Social Media was immediate but not always accurate. Likewise for traditional media.

It's in our nature to want to know what happened, how it happened and who did it immediately if not sooner. Both traditional and new media are great for the immediate part.

But the storylines changed on the fly. There were reports that another bomb went off at the JFK Library. Not true. There were reports of up to five other bombs found. Not true. There were and are reports of "Persons of interest." Maybe true. Then there is stuff we likely are being kept from knowing. Sometimes it's important in investigating crimes of this nature to keep certain information confidential to help catch the bad people.

Traditional media is good at spreading misinformation too. But at least they attribute the source and add they can't confirm the story. An example being the Wall Street Journal reporting 5 other bombs being found. More than one network repeated the story, attributing the source but adding the proviso "We can't confirm." One can argue, fairly, the merits of reporting something you can't confirm. The WSJ is very reputable. But a great rule of journalism is "Attribution before assertion." It should, but of course can't be enforced on Social Media. The whole "1st Amendment thing."

Social Media doesn't play by the same rules. Stuff is posted, re-posted and goes viral in moments. Attribution? Accuracy? So 20th century.

Then there's imagery. A picture or video clip that says it all. A great example is the now iconic shot of the first explosion going off, knocking down a 78 year old runner to the ground. We saw it over and over and over.

About as fast as the "experts" started appearing on traditional media giving often educated viewpoints, came the online pundits with snarky remarks and potshots. The left picking on the right, the right picking on the left and no useful purpose being served. Then of course, the conspiracy folks. They love Social Media.

On a positive note came the many heartfelt posts from all those in our Social Media Networks expressing their emotions and support for Boston. A trend I truly like are the images that are created almost instantly and shared. For the most part, a positive aspect of Social Media in a situation like Boston. And who would have believed the crowd at Yankee Stadium singing "Sweet Caroline?" A good thing.

 

Certainly a positive impact of the technology we carry in our pockets including the cameras in our cell phones is the very likely chance a picture someone took on their smart phone could help solve the case.

Ultimately, I remember this comment from President Reagan who in very analog times said, "Trust but verify." What he said then, fits well in today's digital times.

Immediacy doesn't always mean accuracy.

Brian Olson

Owner/Consultant

Conversation Starters Public Realtions

"We start the conversation about you"

When a Thousand Words is better than a Picture

OK, to be clear, I'm not blogging about the old picture being worth a thousand words thing. This is about not using the picture in the first place.

Driving home from the mountains Sunday night I heard about the terrible injury suffered by Louisville's Kevin Ware playing against Duke for a spot in the Final 4.  Listening to ESPN Radio the most used word to describe it was "Gruesome." Post-game interviews with the coach and fellow players were emotional to say the least.

I haven't and likely won't see video or pictures of the incident where he broke his leg. I was in Church when it happened, I'm not really a college basketball fan and as Texas wasn't playing, well I just wouldn't have watched in the first place.

But there's the news, highlights shows and of course, Social Media. It's just about impossible to not see stuff even if you're not interested in seeing it.  Reading about the accounts of the injury, it was indeed gruesome.

But to their credit, most media outlets used good judgement and other than the the folks who saw it happen live and couldn't have avoided seeing it happen, the rest of us have been spared. This wasn't about seeing the injury, but the story about it and in the days following.

I did see a picture of Keven being released from the hospital  Here's to a quick recovery for the young man. That's the kind of image I like to see!

Louisville is on their way to the Final 4 in Atlanta, and my guess is Kevin will be there to cheer on his teammates. And ...very likely back on the court next season. Let's hope so.

In this case, a thousand words was worth far more than the picture.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"