As promised, ESPN’s Bill Simmons has written a column explaining how he accidentally sent a tweet that broke a huge NFL story with two words, “Moss Vikings.” If you have a few minutes — it’s a bit lengthy — Simmon’s explanation about sports journalism in a new social media world is a terrific read.
But in a nutshell, “My brain basically farts all over my BlackBerry,” Simmons writes, explaining how he meant to send the tweet as a direct message to ESPN co-worker Adam Schefter. Moments earlier, Simmons said he received a tip about the Moss trade and he was DMing Schefter to see if he had heard anything. Instead, he told the world.
What’s really interesting here is what Simmons describes as “pseudo-reporting” in a Twitter age: “telling your audience that you think something happened or that you heard something happened, and somehow that sentiment becomes actual news.” You’ve probably seen tweets that begin with “hearing that…” or “rumors swirling…” or “does anyone know if….” If it turns out to be true, well, you broke the story without the story.
“It’s my least favorite thing about Twitter (because it’s wishy-washy) and one of my favorite things about Twitter (because nonstop conjecture is so much fun for sports fans),” Simmons writes. Which may be acceptable in some sports circles, but it certainly can raise all kinds of ethical (and potentially legal) questions in daily news coverage.
Your thoughts about “pseudo-reporting,” which tends to be the most prevalent during breaking news stories? How far is too far? (Thanks @dondday for the tip!)
