I am intrigued by the meta story surrounding the University of Toledo sexual harassment and resignation scandal. It’s not the story of leaked text messages that gets me, as gross and tiring as it is. Instead, it’s the old media versus new media argument that has resurfaced because of it. Which is just as tiring.

Both Deadspin and the Toledo Blade were working on breaking a story. On Tuesday, Deadspin posted it at 2:45 a.m., while the toledoblade.com posted at 7:13 a.m. That’s not exactly problematic; but the responses of both organizations was. Dave Murray, managing editor of the Blade, called out Deadspin on Twitter:

The difference between the coverage of this story by The Blade and Deadspin is that [Blade reporter Ryan] Autullo is a professional journalist who has named sources and you can believe what he reports.

Can’t we all just get along? Jim Romenesko’s blog has some insight about why print sport’s journalists may not like sites like Deadspin that, as he says, take sport’s journalism off the field and into the locker room. As we’ve found out, that’s where you break some big stories. It was Deadspin, after all, who shocked the media by breaking the Manti Te’o story. This shouldn’t become a shouting match were new and old media try to prove who is more reliable, who has more worthy sources, or who’s doing it right.

Read more

When news broke about the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last month, those on Twitter were some of the first to hear about death counts and momentum in the investigation. We all know Twitter is one of the best tools for engaging with a story, but as the news unfolded, so did the corrections. It’s a good time to reflect on some best practices for reporting on Twitter. As we come upon the one month anniversary mark for Sandy Hook and deal with new tragedies this week like the hostage situtation at a Los Angeles mall to a ferry accident in the East River, here are five things to keep in mind when big news breaks.

1. Facebook Is Not Your Friend

Most corrections resulted from faulty Facebook searches for the alleged shooter. Even as law enforcement insisted they had yet to confirm the identity of the shooter, news organizations like The Huffington Post, Gawker, Buzzfeed and even cable news organizations began posting pictures of Ryan Lanza. And they were all wrong.

Facebook has never been championed for its search capabilities. Despite the fact that Facebook’s speciality is connecting, it’s often easier to Google someone for their Facebook profile than it is to use the social network’s search bar. Even a simple search for your best friend’s rather particular name can turn up over three pages of results. You’re a reporter, not Sherlock Holmes. Use Facebook for clues, but don’t bet on the fact there is only one name per city when news breaks.

2. Read Your Retweets

We’ve written about the dangers of relying on retweets as a journalism strategy. But the fact that a lot of users are retweeting without clicking through doesn’t mean you should, too. News is breaking but take the time to read the articles before you click. Most times, the wrong information passes quicker than the correction. Retweet responsibly.

Read more

The ice is finally starting to melt in Seattle today after one of the worst snow and ice storms in recent years — one that prompted Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire to issue a state of emergency. It was a storm that affected everyone’s day-to-day lives, from transit changes and road closures, to snow days at local elementary schools and colleges. Through it all, The Seattle Times has been a hub for the latest information on the web using a combination of creative packaging, a steady flow of fresh blog content, lots of multimedia, and help from readers who were eager to share information. These are a few ideas you can riff off when weather news breaks in your region.   Full disclosure: I’m a producer at the newspaper.

Live chats

During the worst of the storm, web producers hosted a live chat throughout the day, which served as a place for readers to ask questions about the commute, share updates about weather and ice in their locations, and allowed Times staff to quickly give updates about ever-changing conditions and closures. This community-service chat, while happening, was always linked to high on the homepage, or embedded into the sidebar of the homepage.   Tool of choice: Cover It Live. Read more

Brian Stelter, usually a media reporter at The New York Times, found himself wearing a different hat last week in the middle of of Joplin, Missouri, where he was covering the tornado destruction.  It was out of the scope of his usual reporting and wasn’t a planned assignment, but he happened to be at an airport when the tornadoes struck and there was a flight to Kansas leaving in 45 minutes. Like a true reporter with a passion for the story, he got a standby ticket and was on his way.

But when hit with the responsibility of completely unexpected breaking news reporting — it was Stelter’s first time coming upon a natural disaster as a reporter — there were lessons to be learned. Stelter published a stream-of-consciousness-style narrative on his Tumblr that outlines the events of his experience as he remembers them, chronologically. The full piece is worth the read. Here are some takeaways from his experience that any newsroom editor should work into their breaking news plans. Read more