Social media should be used wisely by the media

There's nothing quite comparable to journalism in the 21st century. There's never been anything that would properly set a precedent for what we as journalists to look to for guidance. The truth is: We're really feeling our way through how to allow our work to benefit society at large.

  This ain't your daddy's media. Some of what we're doing wasn't even seen by your older siblings, and an inherent problem begins to reveal itself because of it.

The technology and social media used to produce and share journalism are outrunning the ethics and attention-to-detail that make it valuable to the world in the first place.

The pace at which news spreads is phenomenal, and the technology in its purest form does nothing but make my job easier and more effective. Personally, I think Twitter is the single greatest advancement in circulating news since CNN went 24/7 in 1980.  One hundred and forty characters is more than enough for an effective headline/link to the story combo and the speed of breaking news is reduced to literally how fast your agency's interns can type the tweet.

As they say though, speed kills. The thirst to be first recently lit up stalwart CBS when they initially reported Penn State head coach Joe Paterno had died hours before his actual death. I saw the tweet, I shared the story along with my condolences only to find out minutes later JoePa was still alive. This prompted the tweet "Good job, CBS. You've sucked ever since Dan Rather left."

In effect, I had unknowingly become part of the system spreading inaccurate news. Even other media sources took what CBS broke and ran with it. As a citizen, it was not entirely my fault that I believed Paterno had died. I willingly put my trust in CBS. But what else am I supposed to believe? I can't go up to Happy Valley and check his pulse.

That's where journalists, and the news they produce, need to be the strongest; when the viewers must take their word as fact. However, practices that would promote the highest quality of information tend to slip when confronted with popular practices.

Twitter, for example. Fast, free, easy to share, but prioritizes speed over accuracy in the eyes of the agency. This is uncharted water for journalists and readers alike. As a news source, your story could get shared a million times over Facebook and Twitter because it was first, but your pride could really blow up in your face if it's inaccurate. A million people could watch you shine, fall or lag behind if you believe slow and steady wins the race (cough, cough, PBS, cough).

We walk a razor's edge on whether we're producing or digesting news.  Journalists need to take better care of their craft, and the audience needs to grow more discerning. Trust needs to return to news, and news must return to being, well, the truth #respect.

Bishop Nash can be contacted at nash17@marshall.edu.