My information list (made-up of news organizations) on Twitter was filled with breaking news last night about a flight from Washington, DC to Denver and the possibility of an act of terror. I’ve talked about this before in my post, Breaking Wind… Er… News. I feel like I need to revisit it; because something is bothering me. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t think so.
Twitter is a great source for information, but also can be a source of confusion when breaking news is happening. I watched my information list at same time as my friend feed and there was a lot of confusion. Questions were being posted like, “Was there an explosion?” or “More than one attack?” I could read that these Twitter updates by news organizations were causing confusion and stress. I understand the need to get information out for public interest and the completive nature of getting the scoop, but isn’t it best to say very little until the facts are developed? Twitter is a great tease, but it has to lead somewhere. News organizations need to have facts first then develop the story. When there is breaking news, I want to know who, what, where, and how. I want the story not fragments of it that keep changing by the moment. I’m willing to wait; solid facts are worth the wait. The story of the boy who cried wolf keeps popping into my head. Folks get wary of this sort of thing. At least I do.
Well, I went to bed last night before the whole incident played out and I was pleased to find out it was a foolish person who needed to chew some gum on the flight instead of having a smoke in the loo and should have kept his thinking thoughts in his head.
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