Citizen ‘Journalism’ Ran Amok in Boston Crisis
Posted: 4/23/2013 | By: Alan D. Mutter | Reflections of a Newsosaur
With an
entire city on lockdown and the whole world watching, crowd reporting on
the drama in Boston last week reached critical mass. Now, we are facing
a critical mess.
Armed with iPhones, empowered by Twitter and amplified by the high-tech witch hunt known as Reddit, perhaps more self-appointed citizen “journalists” than ever broadcast whatever came to mind in an instant, unencumbered by such quaint considerations as accuracy, fairness and balance – or concern for the damage that erroneous accusations can inflict.
Armed with iPhones, empowered by Twitter and amplified by the high-tech witch hunt known as Reddit, perhaps more self-appointed citizen “journalists” than ever broadcast whatever came to mind in an instant, unencumbered by such quaint considerations as accuracy, fairness and balance – or concern for the damage that erroneous accusations can inflict.