Rocky Mountain News "tweets" dead boy's funeral, now (thankfully) being savaged

[slappy4428]

A running PXP of a child's funeral crosses the line -- especially when it was as empty as that was...
Lovely and talented probably thinks it's cool.

[NoOneLikesUs]

Was surprised they didn't have a tease on the page reading:

Check out our online galleries of the funeral! Purchase photos!

[Sam Mills 51]

A moment-by-moment breakdown of a bowel movement would have been more tasteful.

RMN has really screwed this one up. Royally.

[Mizzougrad96]

A moment-by-moment breakdown of a bowel movement would have been more tasteful.

RMN has really screwed this one up. Royally.

This may be an all-time low. I haven't felt this bad about journalism since Jayson Blair.

[SF_Express]

First, this is ghastly. Let's get that out of the way right now. Defending is nearly as bad. Aside from that, it had close to zero value as anything enlightening.

That said, I have a Twitter account. I don't use it that often, but I now get Poynter updates on it, and it has potential as a news tool if properly used. A Colorado TV station recently used it to get information on a tornado somewhere in the state.

As noted in one of those stories, Twitter was used to do updates from the Democratic convention, and it's conceivable there was something of value there.

There are a lot of veterans who are increasingly bitter about New Media, but just because an application is used for something wrong doesn't mean the application itself is without any merit.

[Ace]

First, this is ghastly. Let's get that out of the way right now. Defending is nearly as bad. Aside from that, it had close to zero value as anything enlightening.

That said, I have a Twitter account. I don't use it that often, but I now get Poynter updates on it, and it has potential as a news tool if properly used. A Colorado TV station recently used it to get information on a tornado somewhere in the state.

As noted in one of those stories, Twitter was used to do updates from the Democratic convention, and it's conceivable there was something of value there.

There are a lot of veterans who are increasingly bitter about New Media, but just because an application is used for something wrong doesn't mean the application itself is without any merit.

If for nothing else -- I think Twitter could be particularly good at a big event (like a golf major or an Olympics or such) where you might have a lot of writers/photogs spread out and could be used to communicate with each other. 

Shooter 1 could say he's on the 18th hole. Doug Ferguson could report he's following Tiger's group, etc.

Not for publication, just so everyone knows what is going on. Better than walkie-talkies.

[SF_Express]

OK, I'm willing to ratchet this up a notch.

I read the Fayetteville link. And while there's an airy "what's the big deal?" tone to the whole thing that's pretty annoying -- standards, what standards? -- a pretty good point was made.

If this reporter had gone to the funeral and simply written a 15-inch story about what happened at the funeral, with the exact same details, and written this tagline:

"At 10:40 a.m., family members shoveled earth onto the coffin."

There wouldn't be a peep. We'd say it was a tasteful, respectful account of the end to a tragedy.

How is this different? We intrude on people's lives and private moments similarly every day.

For the record, I think it IS different. It simply seems that way.

But how?

[IGotQuestions]

Simple video, with no commentary, is the only treatment this funeral needed for the Web outside of a scene-setting story for the newspaper.

This makes it look like to the general public: yep, all you need is a blackberry and a desire to write to be a reporter.

[Mizzougrad96]

Here is a link to the story.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/10/youngest-victim-baskin-robbins-crash-mourned/

[Mizzougrad96]

There is a difference between writing a thoughtful story about a funeral and treating a fucking kid's funeral like it's play-by-play at a sporting event.

You want to know why newspapers are dying?

Because people fucking hate us when papers do shit like this.

Can you blame them?

[jps]

The story is fantastic. Just read it and, frankly, am a bit emotional. Maybe because my little one is three, so I can relate to the emotions, trying to put myself in the same position as that father. (Don't feel like watching the video, so no idea what that's worth.)

That said ... if I were in his position, I'd be at the reporter's doorstep, waiting for him to return home. When they let me out, I'd then be at the editor's doorstep. Pain would occur.

I'd have a friend standing by to twitter the beat-downs.

[IGotQuestions]

Ironically, the paper's story that you just posted with the link is great journalism, IMO.

[Mizzougrad96]

The story is fantastic. Just read it and, frankly, am a bit emotional. Maybe because my little one is three, so I can relate to the emotions, trying to put myself in the same position as that father. (Don't feel like watching the video, so no idea what that's worth.)

That said ... if I were in his position, I'd be at the reporter's doorstep, waiting for him to return home. When they let me out, I'd then be at the editor's doorstep. Pain would occur.

I'd have a friend standing by to twitter the beat-downs.

No jury would convict you.

[jps]

The story is fantastic. Just read it and, frankly, am a bit emotional. Maybe because my little one is three, so I can relate to the emotions, trying to put myself in the same position as that father. (Don't feel like watching the video, so no idea what that's worth.)

That said ... if I were in his position, I'd be at the reporter's doorstep, waiting for him to return home. When they let me out, I'd then be at the editor's doorstep. Pain would occur.

I'd have a friend standing by to twitter the beat-downs.

No jury would convict you.

and I wouldn't care if they did.

truth be told ... if I were in denver, I might still show up. and pretty sure that later tonight a letter will be fired off tot he rmn. used to want to work there.

[Sam Mills 51]

There is a difference between writing a thoughtful story about a funeral and treating a fucking kid's funeral like it's play-by-play at a sporting event.

You want to know why newspapers are dying?

Because people fucking hate us when papers do shit like this.

Can you blame them?

No.

I hope Colorado's readers are happy. Between RMN doing this, and Dean Singleton's gross mismanagement that will sink his publications, there won't be much for the area's readers to absorb.

[Joe Williams]

When you are typing -- and typing -- and typing -- and typing -- and typing -- you are not writing, and you most assuredly are not thinking.

I would rather read one 15-inch story/feature/column on this funeral tomorrow morning than to get a blow-by-blow of the separate acts involved in the overall funeral. Give me a superior writer, writing one time (not for blog + online + "second-day lead" print version), and I'll give you some money and your advertisers some eyeball time. But throw these inane IM-like observations at me and I'll drop you for all time like a bad habit.

I thought at-bat by at-bat, and down-by-down, blogs were wasted energy enough, driven by technology but not journalism. Seriously, with TV, radio and league Web sites, who wants to stare at their monitor to get the play-by-play of a game? And who wants to read a story later by a writer who was immersed in typing play-by-play inanities from the game's start to its finish?

But doing this from a funeral is off the charts. Next: Twittering an autopsy. "The skull cutter has opened what's left of JFK's cranium" ... "The nurse is swabbling blood away from the brain tissue" ...

BFD. People have fancy gadgets and can type on them what they see and hear. Try thinking and processing and providing some context and perspective and emotion and art to it, nimrods.

[Mizzougrad96]

The person who wrote the story is not the person who twittered.

Berny Morson is the person who twittered and is hopefully now looking for work.

[Jersey_Guy]

There is a difference between writing a thoughtful story about a funeral and treating a fucking kid's funeral like it's play-by-play at a sporting event.

Bingo. That's all that needs to be said.

[SixToe]

There is a difference between writing a thoughtful story about a funeral and treating a fucking kid's funeral like it's play-by-play at a sporting event.

You want to know why newspapers are dying?

Because people fucking hate us when papers do shit like this.

Can you blame them?

WFF'nW

[I Digress]

i'm a mother and a journalist....and if this ever happened to me, i would own the paper by the time I was done with lawyers.

[SF_Express]

i'm a mother and a journalist....and if this ever happened to me, i would own the paper by the time I was done with lawyers.

Well, with respect to both of those roles, I don't think you'd get very far in any kind of civil action on this, as bad as it might have been. It was public funeral, and there's nothing actionable I can possibly think of here.

[Joe Williams]

The person who wrote the story is not the person who twittered.

Berny Morson is the person who twittered and is hopefully now looking for work.

Not the case, most of the time, with the big games, where the beat guy is supposed to live-BLOG!

Also, since we're all getting rid of staff, how do you justify covering a funeral with multiple people? Or, if you do, what else isn't getting covered today because of that?

[jps]

i'm a mother and a journalist....and if this ever happened to me, i would own the paper by the time I was done with lawyers.

Well, with respect to both of those roles, I don't think you'd get very far in any kind of civil action on this, as bad as it might have been. It was public funeral, and there's nothing actionable I can possibly think of here.

but you can make the public hate them even more than they already do ... and to save that, rmn probably settles.

[SF_Express]

i'm a mother and a journalist....and if this ever happened to me, i would own the paper by the time I was done with lawyers.

Well, with respect to both of those roles, I don't think you'd get very far in any kind of civil action on this, as bad as it might have been. It was public funeral, and there's nothing actionable I can possibly think of here.

but you can make the public hate them even more than they already do ... and to save that, rmn probably settles.

Could be true; but she wouldn't end up with the paper. Just a tiny piece of it.

[jps]

i'm a mother and a journalist....and if this ever happened to me, i would own the paper by the time I was done with lawyers.

Well, with respect to both of those roles, I don't think you'd get very far in any kind of civil action on this, as bad as it might have been. It was public funeral, and there's nothing actionable I can possibly think of here.

but you can make the public hate them even more than they already do ... and to save that, rmn probably settles.

Could be true; but she wouldn't end up with the paper. Just a tiny piece of it.

fair enough.

guess I'd skip the courts and just go straight to physical violence, still.