Category Archives: Online News

Believing Election Results

Believing election results: Pew Research Center finds Americans who get most of their political news on social media display less confidence in the public’s acceptance of election results, regardless of the winner, than those who mostly get this news in other ways such as cable TV, news sites or print newspapers, write Mark Jurkowitz and Amy Mitchell.

 

Speaking Ill of the Dead

Speaking ill of the dead: A backlash against Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez for mentioning the Kobe Bryant rape case “steams from the ancient wisdom that urged folks not to speak ill of the dead,” writes Erik Wemple.

“A fine rule for everyone except for historians and journalists….,” he writes.

 

Kobe Coverage Chaotic

Kobe coverage chaotic: The rush to get news first forced errors, reports Margaret Sullivan.

“In any major breaking news event, whether a hurricane or a school shooting, you can assume that some of the early coverage will be wrong,” she writes. “The Kobe Bryant story was an especially bad example of that truism.”

 

Decade of Media Ethics

Decade of media ethics: Sydney Smith gives an overview of major issues and trends from 2010-2019.

The term “fake news” rises in political reporting. Hoaxes, lawsuits, retractions and firings crop up in covering the president.

The last half of the decade saw an apparent decrease in plagiarism and fabrication cases.