Tompkins: Dangerous to Use Radio Traffic as Source of Information

“The false reports of gunfire were based on radio calls in which Coast Guard personnel voiced imitation ‘bang bang’ noises, agency spokeswoman Lt. Nadine Santiago said.

” ‘It’s a really dangerous practice to use radio traffic as your principal source of information because it so often turns out to be incorrect,’ said Al Tompkins, a faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a journalism center.”