I really want to pit them, but it would end up rather lame for the pit.
I know that this is a developing breaking story, but could you please, please stick to facts. And if facts aren’t available, please don’t go groping around for half-assed theories. Crap like that gets people thinking that the Navy shot down a TWA airliner off of the Long Island coast. That’s not reporting. That’s not informative.
Act like a news station.
I didn’t see anything in your link that looked like wild speculation. Are you talking about something you saw on TV?
Yes, but I can’t link to the TV show. They led at 6:00am EST stating that they had no information, yet spent the next 5 minutes pulling theories out of thin air. They had some more information when I returned from the shower (the ship indeed did sink and a rescue mission was underway), but still spent the next 5 minutes discussing theories on how the ship sunk. Theories, I might add, with absolutely no evidence to support them.
That’s one curse (of many) of instant news. An event happens, and they have to say something. And they can’t just say, “more details as they arrive.” The audience (and I’m pointing to you) doesn’t want to wait.
Even worse – they’ll grab onto any detail, no matter the source, and spread the rumor (e.g., “all the miners are alive!”). Frank Reynold’s “let’s get it nailed down!” is almost quaint. The point isn’t to search out the truth, but to report something, just to keep people (I’m pointing at you again) from switching channels.
The fault, dear Caesar . . . ,.
If you are pointing at me, you are pointing at someone who only wants the facts. I turn the channel because I’m not getting facts, I’m getting speculation. If a story is breaking, as soon as facts are discerned, report them. That’s great, that will hold my interest far more than the guessing that was going on.
(In a related rant about newscasting, I despise that entertainment news sullies my morning information gathering. Any more than 5 minutes right before the hour is a waste. Leave the rest to E! and Entertainment Tonight. Same with sports. ESPN is a button-press away. I don’t watch CNN for sports news. I want, but I’m not likely to get, a national NEWS station, not a national version of local news shows.)