Accuracy vs. Speed in Online News

For shame, Associated Press. For shame.

Those who got their early on were able to retrieve their frightened children, but some who arrived later found the street outside the school lined with squad cars and blocked off. (From a news story published today)

Naturally this is not the only error ever made in an online news story. Not even from reputable news outlets like the AP.

And it's not surprising. The 24/7 demand for news leaves little, if any, time for proofreading. I'd wager that every single news story published on the web right this minute contains at least one error somewhere.

We value speed more than accuracy in the world of online news. I'm guilty of it too. I find myself getting annoyed if my L train is delayed and I can't immediately go online and find out why. Never mind that if someone actually did report it that fast, it would most likely be an inaccurate report, since only Superman could possibly have had enough time to gather all the facts.

We are the McDonalds generation, after all. We've proven many times that we'll take fast and cheap over high-quality. But junk news is like junk food. You are what you consume. Take in too much of it and it throws your whole system out of whack. Then if you're smart, you'll back off the crap and take in only the good stuff for a while. And if you're not smart, then you'll have the mental equivalent of indigestion. I'm not sure what that would look like, but I know I don't want it.