We’ve noticed a couple of major news sources this week engaging in the questionable activity of announcing a celebrity’s death while they’re still alive.
OK! has published its “˜Jade Goody Official Tribute Issue 1981-2009′ this week, following up on the success of their Jade Goody Official Wedding Issues. These three editions were some of the biggest selling issues to date, so in this respect, it is entirely understandable that they would publish another “Jade special”- what is confusing is that they decided to do so before the reality TV star’s death.
Even more surprising was Time Out New York’s decision to publish the article “˜RIP Natasha Richardson 1963-2009′ on March 17th. The actress is currently critically ill in hospital, surrounded by her family. Time Out commenters were not impressed by this insensitive inaccuracy, with one saying, “Scoring the scoop is not worth the pain and suffering of her family and loved ones!”
This comment, while a little dramatic, strikes to the heart of the issue; these publications are desperate to spread the news before it has hit Facebook, Twitter and other social media routes- and in these cases, before the news has even happened. We’ve become used to reading articles in traditional media that state Twitter or Facebook updates as their sources, and now it seems they’ve become a little over eager to break the story themselves.
My question is this: Since it is impossible for these publications to match Twitter in terms of speed of publishing, shouldn’t they focus on what they can provide that Twitter can’t? If they aim for accuracy and authority rather than speed, surely there’s room for both?
