I’m really glad someone has highlighted the horrendous reporting done by the Norwich Bulletin in the Julie Amero case. John C. Sharp highlights the degree of accountability that bloggers have brought into the case. Had the public relied upon the reports of their local newspaper only, they’d be convinced forever more that a 40-year old pregnant teacher was whiling away her hours in the classroom hunting down porn.
Before the Julie Amero case came along, and “reporters” Daniel Axelrod and Greg Smith misread the blood-flow of the local populace and started writing pro-state articles about how much this 40 year old, married, pregnant substitute teacher deserved to go to jail, the Norwich Bulletin was on the same downhill slide many other carbon-based media entities are themselves confronting.
I disagree with him about the value of having the Bulletin disappear and bloggers taking its place, however. I believe that there is a place for both — the newspaper should be held accountable for displayed bias in reporting by the bloggers who offer various points of view. I wouldn’t want to see newspapers disappear, but I would like for them to abide by professional best practice standards of objectivity.
Technorati Tags: Norwich Bulletin, reporting, media, citizen journalism
