Do you report "rumors say?"

[DemoChristian]

I've always been taught you never report rumors. You either confirm them or dispell them, but you never write, "Rumors say..."
I have seen this tactic used more and more lately. I'm sure people wanting to be first is a big part of it, but I've always maintained that our job is to report what we know, not what whispers on the street are.
This is not about using unnamed sources. I just want to know if any of you report rumors and if so, why/when?

 

[Ace]

Rumor hat it that we don't.

I think some rumors get so big, however, that you are forced to address them in some manner by asking the rumoree or something.

 

[Diabeetus]

I'd try to stay away from it as much as possible. Also, the rumors aren't saying anything, mainly because they can't speak. A scout, on the other hand...

 

[DemoChristian]

Rumor hat it that we don't.

Can I quote you on that? I'll use, "A source close to the publication."

 

[Ace]

Sure. Oh, if you have a blog, just print it as fact. The "rumor has it" will protect you from all lawsuits.

 

[Moderator1]

No.
You don't report them. Ever.

Now, you can talk about them in context.

Coach Schmoe has had an interesting offseason, dealing with the departure of three assistants, his wife's health and rumors on the Internet and elsewhere that star quarterback Peter Peckerhead was going to transfer.
"I heard those," Schmoe said, "and called Peter right away. He assured me they weren't true and he's still here."

But you need to be very, very, very careful with that kind of thing.

The word "rumor" in a story was always a big red flag for me.

 

[Some Guy]

No.
You don't report them. Ever.

Now, you can talk about them in context.

Coach Schmoe has had an interesting offseason, dealing with the departure of three assistants, his wife's health and rumors on the Internet and elsewhere that star quarterback Peter Peckerhead was going to transfer.
"I heard those," Schmoe said, "and called Peter right away. He assured me they weren't true and he's still here."

But you need to be very, very, very careful with that kind of thing.

The word "rumor" in a story was always a big red flag for me.

Exactly.

And I think you have to wait for "rumors" to reach a certain fever pitch before you address them, either to confirm or deny. I don't think you want to give credence to every little thing you read on the Internet.

"Coach Schmoe denied rumors that he had once ****ed a goat."

That type of thing ...

 

[Ace]

And I think you have to wait for "rumors" to reach a certain fever pitch before you address them, either to confirm or deny. I don't think you want to give credence to every little thing you read on the Internet.

"Coach Schmoe denied rumors that he had once ****ed a goat."

That type of thing ...

That one is true, though. My friend's cousin's friend was there.

 

[Moderator1]

In that case, you are reporting a rumor. You have a source to back up the fact!

 

[zebracoy]

The problem is that a lot of the 24-hour news cycles (read: ESPN) fuel the flames all the time with regards to "Bill Parcells is going here," "Bill Parcells is going there," "Bill Parcells is going back here," etc. We get calls all the time with people wanting to know what the absolute latest updates are on such a search, and at some point, we're doing a disservice if we're not addressing them - or are at least are on damage control.

It's not a good idea to pass them along, and certainly not good to start throwing out unfounded assumptions in stories (much like the closest competitor). But at some point, things have to be addressed, and the rumors should be followed up on.

 

[Some Guy]

In that case, you are reporting a rumor. You have a source to back up the fact!

The goat declined comment.

 

[Moderator1]

Baaaa. Baaaaaaaaaa! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I'm told reliably that was the goat's comment.

 

[DemoChristian]

It's not a good idea to pass them along, and certainly not good to start throwing out unfounded assumptions in stories (much like the closest competitor). But at some point, things have to be addressed, and the rumors should be followed up on.

Yes, but it's different to try to confirm or dispell a rumor than to simply report the rumor.
That's what I'm asking about, and I've seen this done a few times in a metro in the past few months and saw another example in a smaller paper today.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

You don't report rumors. You investigate them, find out if they are true.. Then (maybe) write a story.
A rumor is not a story. It could be lead - albeit a false one - but it should never be a story.
Most rumors have a granule of truth, but are often spun out of control. It's like playing phone operator in first grade (the game where everyone sits in a circle and the teacher whispers something in the first student's ear. They whisper it to the next person, they whisper it to the next person and so on). At the end, the original phrase is usually so bent and twisted it seldom ever resembles the original phrase. ...
I've had lot of people tell me rumors are going around about this and that. If it could be true, I'll talk either the person involved in the rumor or someone who should have first-hand knowledge about the rumor to see if it merits further investigation.

Part of being reporter is checking things out to see if they are true.

As has already been posted... do NOT pass them along!

 

[EE94]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0522/1385446.html

 

[Joe Williams]

I agree with everyone here that rumors, if they are dealt with at all, should be thoroughly investigated and either confirmed or disspelled.

That view, shared by so many of us, still doesn't stop some bosses in our business from hearing the latest rumor on sports talk radio on his drive home from work and picking up the phone to tell the beat writer, "We need something on this!"

Best approach I've heard to dealing with this: Sit down with the boss, when no pressing rumor is in play, to ask if the beat writer is expected to chase every last freaking rumor and report/comment/blog on it. If answer is no, we trust our beat writers to know what to chase and what not to chase, that is swell. If the answer is yes, heaven help the beat writer.

 

[zebracoy]

It's not a good idea to pass them along, and certainly not good to start throwing out unfounded assumptions in stories (much like the closest competitor). But at some point, things have to be addressed, and the rumors should be followed up on.

Yes, but it's different to try to confirm or dispell a rumor than to simply report the rumor.
That's what I'm asking about, and I've seen this done a few times in a metro in the past few months and saw another example in a smaller paper today.

Right. And I'm saying don't pass the rumor on - investigate its validity. That's what a good reporter would do.

Seems rather simple to me.

 

[Dale Cooper]

It's not a good idea to pass them along, and certainly not good to start throwing out unfounded assumptions in stories (much like the closest competitor). But at some point, things have to be addressed, and the rumors should be followed up on.

Yes, but it's different to try to confirm or dispell a rumor than to simply report the rumor.
That's what I'm asking about, and I've seen this done a few times in a metro in the past few months and saw another example in a smaller paper today.

Right. And I'm saying don't pass the rumor on - investigate its validity. That's what a good reporter would do.

Seems rather simple to me.

Shhhh ... if we let this get too loud, it might sound like Mike Gundy wasn't all wrong.

 

[DemoChristian]

For the record, Gundy was wrong because those "rumors" were actually unnamed sources within Oklahoma State's program. That much I know. Gundy might even be one of them.

I seem be to in the vast majority here on not reporting rumors. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Apparently some others I've been reading are.

 

[Moland Spring]

This is pretty much a textbook example of reporting rumors. In this blog (or whatever it is), the writer also comes off like a supreme fan boy telling everyone why Tom Izzo is doing all the right things by not being definitive. Ugh.

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2008/04/the_izzo_rumor_mill.html