Journalists covering the shooting at Umpqua Community College have turned to social media to find eyewitnesses, a practice that has raised questions about the balance between sensitivity and the imperative to report news under difficult circumstances.
@KP_KaylaMarie Kayla, are you ok? I work with ABC News, if you can follow me I would love to talk to you. Please be safe.
— Katie Conway (@Real_MaryK8) October 1, 2015
As reporters from CNN, ABC the New York Daily News and others tweeted at on-the-ground sources seeking information, their efforts were variously characterized by journalists as crass or industrious, depending on who was opining.
Some argued that crowdsourcing by reporters trying to piece together their story came off as opportunistic:
@jbenton it's reporting that used to happen at the scene without location constraints and now extremely public. looks tacky, no protocol…
— Zack Sampson (@ZackSampson) October 1, 2015
@jbenton sure (this is one of my least favorite things media companies do in 2015)
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) October 1, 2015
@jbenton 4 from CNN one after the other bugging her. pic.twitter.com/C9jXssWBw4
— Random Factchecker (@RandomFactcheck) October 1, 2015
Others insisted that journalists are justified in using a public social network in the course of reporting out an important developing narrative:
hey dummy reporters aren’t supposed to be respectful when something bad happens, they talk to ppl because you wanna read about the bad thing
— Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) October 1, 2015
Hey why are all those RUDE reporters tweeting at the crime witness? maybe because https://t.co/s6LJWO1UO6
— Hamilton Nolan (@hamiltonnolan) October 1, 2015
i've been critical of mass twitter outreach for comment during tragedy in past, but predictable feigned outrage at it just isn't productive
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) October 1, 2015
And some journalists noted that the tenor of the crowdsourcing request goes a long way toward determining whether it’s appropriate or not:
yes, seeing how the sausage is made is not always pretty, but one of these is a decent way to go about it pic.twitter.com/adBC13scAK
— Internet Person™ (@TimHerrera) October 1, 2015
At the very least, verification through crowdsourcing seems to be a step toward eliminating some of the confusion that surfaced in early stories. Crowdsourcing is at least an attempt to cut through the media echo chamber in search of firsthand information.
But as Herrera noted, there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for information from sources during tragedies. In the wake of the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, Poynter compiled some best practices that include being empathetic, avoiding inflammatory language and respecting sources’ reluctance to talk.
Although contacting potential victims who may be upset is difficult, the upside to accurate newsgathering is more important than the perceived insensitivity, said Kelly McBride, Poynter’s vice president of academic programs.
“That is part of your job as a reporter,” McBride said. “There is this general common good in the world that comes from having an accurate picture of what happened.”
