What We’re Planning to Discuss on 6/10

“Getting it right is expensive. Getting it first is cheap.” So said Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and the author of a story about Apple buying Twitter that raised more than a few eyebrows (and hackles) among peers in the media. Why? Because the story turned out to be untrue. Arrington admitted he paused before publishing. But only for a little while. Then he forged ahead, knowing the source was thin, at best.

Damon Darlin sharply criticized this style of reporting in a recent New York Times column entitled, Get the Tech Scuttlebutt! (It Might Even Be True.) Arrington published his rebuttal here.

Cracks in the journalism foundation are showing everywhere – from business models to reporting. As journalism changes, we wonder if this is occurring across the entire realm of publishing. We aren’t alone. Jane Friedman said in a recent interview, “Publishers need to be part of the community and helping moderate discussion/direction, or aggregating information, helping people cut through to the most valuable and relevant stuff. I think both writers and publishers can be very helpful in that regard: in pointing people to right answer/solution/experience based on a trust-driven relationship.”

The way we see it, there are two sides to the emerging playing field. Those being:

-Publish a developing story, even if you haven’t secured all the facts

or

-Wait and report a complete and verified story.

Which side are you on? The discussion continues tonight on Editorchat on Twitter, from 8:30-10 pm eastern. Won’t you join us?