It’s all well and good to try to be first with breaking
news, but there are a few news organizations that today are likely
reviewing their procedures on reporting—as in, don’t go on the
air with a Supreme Court ruling until you understand what it
says. CNN, Fox News, and NPR all got it wrong in the first
moments after the ruling was read in court, each reporting that
the justices had essentially rejected the Affordable Care Act.
It took Wolf Blitzer on CNN and Bill Hemmer at FoxNews a few flustered minutes to make corrections—once they got their facts straight. A listener said NPR made “numerous”
on-air apologies.
President Obama, watching CNN at the White House, was among those who heard the erroneous report, according to Jake Tapper of ABC News. “Senior
administration officials say the president was calm,” wrote Tapper on
his blog.
Hey, even though these kinds of media mistakes
shouldn’t happen, we know they can—and do—in an environment in which the
pressure
to be first can obscure the mandate to be accurate. When
Blitzer called on his CNN colleagues to take “a deep breath,” he
was speaking some common sense. But it is CNN that crows it
wants to be the network viewers come to when major news is breaking!
No surprise, the very public gaffes prompted heavy media schadenfreude and a Twitter frenzy. Herewith, a random sampling:
File Under Oops: Some Major Media Flub the Obamacare Ruling; Twitter Goes Wild
A roundup of the best tweets about the erroneous reports from CNN, FoxNews, and more.
It’s all well and good to try to be first with breaking
news, but there are a few news organizations that today are likely
reviewing their procedures on reporting—as in, don’t go on the
air with a Supreme Court ruling until you understand what it
says. CNN, Fox News, and NPR all got it wrong in the first
moments after the ruling was read in court, each reporting that
the justices had essentially rejected the Affordable Care Act.
It took
Wolf Blitzer on CNN and
Bill Hemmer at FoxNews a few flustered minutes to make corrections—once they got their facts straight. A listener said NPR made “numerous”
on-air apologies.
President Obama, watching CNN at the White House, was among those who heard the erroneous report, according to
Jake Tapper of ABC News. “Senior
administration officials say the president was calm,” wrote Tapper on
his blog.
Hey, even though these kinds of media mistakes
shouldn’t happen, we know they can—and do—in an environment in which the
pressure
to be first can obscure the mandate to be accurate. When
Blitzer called on his CNN colleagues to take “a deep breath,” he
was speaking some common sense. But it is CNN that crows it
wants to be the network viewers come to when major news is breaking!
No surprise, the very public gaffes prompted heavy media schadenfreude and a Twitter frenzy. Herewith, a random sampling:
Most Popular in News & Politics
What It Felt Like for a Virginia Marching Band to Win Metallica’s Contest
What’s IN and OUT in DC Restaurant Trends for 2024
Introducing 8 of DC’s Most Stylish
Best of Washington 2023: Things to Eat, Drink, Do, and Know Right Now
Washingtonian Magazine
May 2024: Great Getaways
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
13 Major Concerts and Music Festivals in the DC Area This Spring
Mary Timony on Her Emotional New Album, “Untame the Tiger”
The Beatles in DC: A New Exhibit in Maryland Looks Back on Early Beatlemania
Northern Virginia High School Wins Metallica’s Marching Band Competition
More from News & Politics
These Volunteers Wake Up at Dawn to Collect DC’s Dead—and Injured—Birds
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This May
Democrats and Republicans Pass Balls, Not Bills, at Congressional Soccer Game
3 New Memoirs by Prominent Women
Everything You Wanted to Know About Urban Bear Sightings but Were Afraid to Ask, Because Who Wants to Get That Close to a Bear?
Rockville Police Are Searching for Culprits of a $4,500 Pickleball Paddle Heist
Dozens of Vintage Planes Will Fly Over the National Mall This Saturday
PHOTOS: “Rupaul’s Drag Race” Queens Work It at the National Mall