Blame Game

by Roger Pynn

There will no doubt be questions for a long time about the devastating dip in United Airlines’ stock prices this week, and just as surely there will be many players working to distance themselves from the incident.

In an earlier post I suggested that newspapers, having put their content and their futures on the Internet, must ultimately exercise the caution that prevents misinformation such as we saw in this incident.

Pointing fingers won’t do any good. Stepping up the plate may just make newspapers relevant again.

Do We Want Watchdogs Any More?

by Dan Ward

Roger Pynn blogged yesterday about the mistakes by national media outlets that allowed a six-year-old story to nearly destroy United Airlines, questioning where all the “watchdogs” have gone.

After reading his post, and the story that led to it, I have another question to ask: Do readers even want watchdogs anymore? If one uses reader comments as a gauge, then perhaps hard news is just no longer of interest.

Three hours after the United Airlines story appeared online, only 27 reader comments had been posted. In the same time frame, readers had taken the time to post 1,600 comments regarding a breaking news story … Casey Anthony Meets With Home Confinement Manager.

Where have the watchdogs gone, Roger might ask? Apparently, they have been invited indoors, where they can sit comfortably by the fireplace as the world watches Nancy Grace.

Unfortunately, those of us who see the importance of a watchdog are no longer the target at which media arrows are aimed.