You can't trust everything you read on the Internet!
This phrase has been tossed around for as long as I can remember, but I feel it is becoming more and more true.
They way people consume their news, follow their favourite sports team and stay connected to their community is drastically changing. In today's world information is available at the simple click of a button.
Finding information and news online is becoming easier and easier, but it is also becoming more convoluted.
Anyone with a computer or phone and an Internet connection can post whatever they want to the web. While this has its benefits, it also can be potentially dangerous.
The ability to have all of the news and information you want at your fingertips has resulted in people wanting their news instantly.
This new level of demand has changed the job of a reporter. It is not just good enough to find sources, conduct interviews and write an in-depth story. People want more and they want it as fast as they possibly can get it.
Over the years more and more impatient people have decided to do the reporting themselves. With a simple cell phone someone can write stories, shoot video, record audio and post it all to the web very easily. While this is handy, and in some cases, helps break news stories with video footage that wouldn't have been captured otherwise, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Just because everyone has the ability to post information to the Internet doesn't mean that they should.
There is a reason why journalists and reporters are hired to do the work. They have the proper training, and have devoted hours to making sure they are getting correct, up-to-date information to you as quickly as they possibly can.
When you hire someone to install your furnace, fix your plumbing, or pave your driveway, are going to hire a professional to do it?
Then shouldn't you do the same with your news? If you aren't going to trust Joe Blow down the street to fix your leaking pipes, why would you trust everything he posts on the blog he operates from his mother's basement?
You have to remember that citizen journalists aren't trained reporters. Yes, they have the ability to post and break news the same way as a normal reporter, but they don't have to follow any rules.
Journalists have rules and standards. Two different sources, on most occasions, have to provide the same information before any breaking news story can confidently run. Until journalists get their confirmation, they aren't breaking the news.
This tends to not be true for blogs and citizen journalists, who will run with information the second they hear about it.
It is not uncommon for blogs to break rumours or spread misinformation. The demand for news to be posted as quickly as possible often leads people to jump to conclusions and post too early. When you rush, you often make mistakes.
While the Bonnyville Nouvelle might not break news as quickly as you might want, we can guarantee that sources have been checked, the proper people have been called and the information is accurate.
I can't guarantee what you are going to see on Joe Blow's news blog though.
Sure, occasionally we make mistakes. We are human. Everyone makes mistakes.
We are doing our best to provide the most accurate, timely and newsworthy information to the community; after all, its what separates us from the average wanna-be blogger.
