Today in Mistakes-To-Avoid-Learned-In-Journalism-101, we have the typical example of a reporter not verifying his sources before publishing false information. But this was no simple J School student. This was an AP reporter.
When a reporter for the AP heard a Christopher Walken impersonator on the radio, he thought the guy was real, and published a story about the fantastic claims he made. The lede read: "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Christopher Walken says he went to bed on a yacht he was on with actress Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner 30 years ago and awoke to learn that she had died."
None of that, of course, is true. Why this reporter never bothered to get a second source or check with his editors before publishing such an unfounded story is a question AP needs to answer.
This mistake comes at an interesting time, too. AP recently chastised its reporters for breaking news on Twitter before the wire can publish it -- the specific case involved journalists at Occupy Wall Street tweeting about being arrested before AP could get it. But TBD says that using Twitter to verify sources and claims could actually have benefited the reporter who published the Christopher Walken story, and I think it's a valid claim.
I think you're totally right about the twitter thing. He would have gotten a ton of responses right away. But even so, he still should have checked with an editor. That's just a dumb mistake.
ReplyDeletethis reminds me of the whole gabby giffords thing and npr... WOOOOOPS!
ReplyDeleteThis is such an easily avoided mistake... Unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how such a reputable organization would make this mistake. A reporter's job is into investigate and find the truth instead of trust what they hear.
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