Twitter Not Good for Sports Journalism? - iMediaEthics

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Missouri’s Columbia Tribune reported on problems with using Twitter to report on breaking sports news and other sports journalism in a recent article.

The article noted how journalism instructor and sports anchor Eric Blumberg erroneously tweeted about the “failed” attempt to hire a basketball coach for Missouri. The article states they learned: “it’s better to be right and be the last one to say it, than first and wrong.”

Blumberg had tweeted that “sources say” Purdue’s basketball coach, Matt Painter, would be going to the University of Missouri to coach.  Painter stayed at Purdue. St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz has apologized as well for reporting Painter would be going to Missouri, Chicago Breaking Sports reported.

University of Missouri journalism professor Charles Davis commented that Twitter can be “most harmful” for breaking stories because the information is spread so quickly but not vetted. “It’s like using an axe to polish your hardwood floor. It’s not a very delicate instrument, and it does a heck of a lot more damage than good in that context,” Davis is quoted as saying.

Read more on the Tribune’s website here.

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Twitter Not Good for Sports Journalism?

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