From this last reading and from class- I had never realized that television stations and other journalism sources are more concerned with who broke the story first rather than the stories actual accuracy. Sure it is great to be the first to get coverage on something, but what does it matter if the coverage is only half right- if that?
People watch the news and read papers to find out things they DON'T know- but they are reading it and watching it because they trust that what is being shown is the truth, is valid, and is real.
I feel like its almost an abuse of power by putting something out in the world that could later be found partially if not totally wrong, when the public is depending and relying on these sources.
Professor Copeland told us about the man that wrote about the jail being over populated and the huge issues surrounding that and then come to realize that he wrote his article without finding out the actual truth- and that jail was actually one of the best kept and properly populated ones in the country. Thats not only a egregious error but its an utterly embarrasing one. Not only did this mans story run- but it ran on the front cover that everyone reads.
It is no surprise that this man eventually left the profession- its certainly unfortunate- but thats not exactly a spelling error and missing punctuation, thats kind of a big deal.
This definitely makes me question what I see on television and what I read now. Before I would have relied solely on the one source I watch on TV or just one article I read, when in reality to really know the truth I guess sometimes we need to look into it ourselves..maybe we'd be better off.
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