There’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re reporting breaking news. Here are some resources on getting it right.
Reporting
• Covering what comes next in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon explosions
Al Tompkins on best practices: “Clearly tell the public what you know and what you do not know,” “Choose your words carefully,” “Don’t overdo it.”
• 8 essential skills for anchors (& any journalist) covering breaking news
“Dead-on grammar, syntax, pronunciation, tone and storytelling” are crucial, Jill Geisler writes, but so are “Sensitivity to ethical land mines that often litter the field of live breaking news.”
• How to publish credible information online while news is breaking
Vicki Krueger on questions to ask about ethics, credibility and how you get your reporting out on social media.
• 8 must-reads detail how to verify information in real-time, from social media, users Craig Silverman gathers resources for reporters combing through social media. • When covering Boston suspects, watch for fake social media accounts Don’t get burned, Mallary Tenore writes. • How to tweet (and not) during a tragedy (Slate) Great tips from Jeremy Stahl Background information • What journalists need to know about guns and gun control Should you need gun information, this article can help you get basic terminology straight. • Vague descriptions in Boston bombings hurt more than they help “The Stuart case of 1989 taught us to be cautious with and skeptical of generic physical descriptors,” Roy Peter Clark writes. • Let’s remember Richard Jewell as we cover Boston ‘suspects’ “We can cause great harm to individuals and to the investigation when we suggest people are suspects,” Al Tompkins writes. • What it’s been like to cover the Boston manhunt Two reporters’ Twitter feeds from early Friday. • Front pages & stories behind the stories highlight tragedy in Boston From Tuesday morning, after the blasts. • BostonGlobe.com, other sites drop paywalls following Boston Marathon explosions • On a wild night of news, a remarkable press performance Ryan Chittum on coverage during the manhunt. • CNN’s double breakdown: So much for abundance of caution Erik Wemple on the network’s reporting about a phantom “arrest” • What we can learn from covering journalists’ mistakes covering the suspects Craig Silverman on how news orgs can learn from their blunders. • Confusion reigns in reporting of Boston “arrest” Tweets and links from a day when a big news story became a big media story • Daily News won’t comment on why it altered photo from Boston explosions “It’s really unfortunate when flawed editing decisions become the news about the news,” Poynter’s Kenny Irby said. • New York Times was one of New York Post’s sources for its Boston reporting, but … The New York Post had an interesting week. • Jack Shafer on the New York Post — “shameless paper in mindless fog” “The Post‘s recklessness ‑ its urge to entertain and excite no matter what the validity of a headline or a story might be ‑ places it outside the modern American newspaper tradition and firmly in the British tradition,” Shafer writes. • A critical appreciation of New York Post, New York Daily News statements on journalistic offenses “But a forensic examination of the Post’s language in the story accompanying that photo shows the thin slice of daylight in which [New York Post Editor Col] Allan’s trying to catch some rays.” • What we can learn from extremely violent photography (The New Republic) “It is supposed to be difficult to look at images of bodies in pain,” Jason Farago writes. “We are supposed to recoil at first. Images can’t possibly convey the full reality of suffering, but nobody is asking them to. What they do convey, better and more efficiently than words, is an imprint or a reminder of human cruelty and human pain.” Related training: Multimedia Reporting: Covering Breaking News | Online Verification: Best Practices | Reporter’s Academy
Bigger picture
Some of Poynter’s stories about the manhunt
Press criticism
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