nickdouglas: mikemonteiro: The death of journalism. THIS ERROR IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ANYONE BEING WRITTEN ABOUT IN A STORY, EVER. YOU GUYS. While I think the lack of even the simplest journalistic protocol and etiquette is worth a dressing down by itself, McCarthy’s reaction is what was really appalling.  I couldn’t help going back and piecing together the exchange between @Mike_FTW, @Mat, and @Caro.  You can make the argument that this was mostly a case of someone coming in and not really understanding Twitter* (compounded with lazy reporting) but there is no justifiable argument for why this conversation lasted more than two tweets that could be boiled down to, “Hey, you messed up.” and, “Sorry, correcting now.”   Instead, @caro tried to retard Monteiro’s, Honan’s, and her audience’s wits with drink. Numerous times.  1. “OK, everyone. LET’S ALL CALM DOWN AND HAVE A DRINK. I’m going to e-mail @mike_ftw and we’ll settle this like grown-ups with finger paint.” 2. ”.@gustache Yeah, I’m ready to call this one off. It’s Friday, goshdarnit. Let’s all go have beers.” 3. ”@Mike_FTW This is no way to end a Friday. Just deny the damned thing to me personally, I’ll run a correction. Then go have a beer. Capisce?” 4.”@ryanchris Wow, thanks for being a prick. Go chill out, have a beer, and enjoy your weekend.” For good measure: ”.@Mike_FTW I don’t have a journalism degree. You really think this is this big a deal? Jebus. Bigger errors have been committed.” “OK, folks. The last word for those of you who were asking. I’m not saying any more. http://bit.ly/9F4qTo #timeforabeer” It seems pretty safe to say that McCarthy is an alcoholic.  At least until she denies it to me personally.  This scenario is why my stomach does a little flip every time I hit “publish” on a story.  The thing is, everyone has made errors.  Even when I’ve called or e-mailed to confirm details, sometimes I’ve worded things in a confusing manner. Sometimes some transparency is lost when my editor massages a story for length.  I’ve never had a straightforward denial come in, but I like to think that the publication and I would be courteous and treat it seriously.  Nick, you’ve operated on a much larger scale than I ever have and probably ever will.  You’ve no doubt had to hold your own against plenty of rich egomaniacs and make judgment calls about the veracity of your own pieces and those of your staff in light of complaints.  Hell, you apparently said your site would love to get sued.  However, I can’t help but think that in a case with flawed methodology and an explicit denial you would act more considerately than McCarthy did.  Even if you strongly believed that Monteiro was behind the account, you’d have to admit that the story had no merit in its current form and required removal, to be followed by a more intensive investigation. *It should be noted that understanding Twitter is part of her job as “a journalist covering the things that connect us in the 21st century: social media, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, and digital culture.”

 

nickdouglas:

mikemonteiro:

The death of journalism.

THIS ERROR IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ANYONE BEING WRITTEN ABOUT IN A STORY, EVER.

YOU GUYS.

While I think the lack of even the simplest journalistic protocol and etiquette is worth a dressing down by itself, McCarthy’s reaction is what was really appalling.  I couldn’t help going back and piecing together the exchange between @Mike_FTW, @Mat, and @Caro.  You can make the argument that this was mostly a case of someone coming in and not really understanding Twitter* (compounded with lazy reporting) but there is no justifiable argument for why this conversation lasted more than two tweets that could be boiled down to, “Hey, you messed up.” and, “Sorry, correcting now.”   Instead, @caro tried to retard Monteiro’s, Honan’s, and her audience’s wits with drink. Numerous times. 

1. “OK, everyone. LET’S ALL CALM DOWN AND HAVE A DRINK. I’m going to e-mail @mike_ftw and we’ll settle this like grown-ups with finger paint.”

2. ”.@gustache Yeah, I’m ready to call this one off. It’s Friday, goshdarnit. Let’s all go have beers.”

3. ”@Mike_FTW This is no way to end a Friday. Just deny the damned thing to me personally, I’ll run a correction. Then go have a beer. Capisce?”

4.”@ryanchris Wow, thanks for being a prick. Go chill out, have a beer, and enjoy your weekend.”

For good measure: ”.@Mike_FTW I don’t have a journalism degree. You really think this is this big a deal? Jebus. Bigger errors have been committed.”

“OK, folks. The last word for those of you who were asking. I’m not saying any more. http://bit.ly/9F4qTo #timeforabeer”

It seems pretty safe to say that McCarthy is an alcoholic.  At least until she denies it to me personally. 

This scenario is why my stomach does a little flip every time I hit “publish” on a story.  The thing is, everyone has made errors.  Even when I’ve called or e-mailed to confirm details, sometimes I’ve worded things in a confusing manner. Sometimes some transparency is lost when my editor massages a story for length.  I’ve never had a straightforward denial come in, but I like to think that the publication and I would be courteous and treat it seriously.  Nick, you’ve operated on a much larger scale than I ever have and probably ever will.  You’ve no doubt had to hold your own against plenty of rich egomaniacs and make judgment calls about the veracity of your own pieces and those of your staff in light of complaints.  Hell, you apparently said your site would love to get sued.  However, I can’t help but think that in a case with flawed methodology and an explicit denial you would act more considerately than McCarthy did.  Even if you strongly believed that Monteiro was behind the account, you’d have to admit that the story had no merit in its current form and required removal, to be followed by a more intensive investigation.

*It should be noted that understanding Twitter is part of her job as “a journalist covering the things that connect us in the 21st century: social media, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, and digital culture.”