First to the news, blues

With the explosion of the Internet and subsequently, the blogosphere, over the past decade, the boundaries of journalism have been considerably blurred. Bloggers and “citizen journalists” have been responsible for bringing important news stories to light, including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s “bitter” remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser. But for every credible story that comes from the unregulated and uncredentialed world of blogs, there are heaps of false information lurking out there, too.

Many of the newsrooms of America’s media are woefully understaffed and struggle to react to the constant bombardment of the 24/7 news cycle. Too often, they rely on rogue news outlets and information that is disseminated without any sense of its accuracy or credibility.

This begs the question, how can journalists know where the line between truth and the lack thereof lies? Journalists must trust their sources and ought to work to independently verify any scurrilous news. However, in these days of instantaneous news, outlets are so concerned with being first with a story that accuracy and integrity are sometimes sacrificed.