Tulsan Beau Taylor began false report about death of UFC fighter Kimo Leopoldo
Expert says case provides a lesson
MICHAEL KIMBALL
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Published: July 24, 2009
Beau Taylor of Tulsa provided media observers this week with a case study on how quickly an Internet rumor can be reported as news.
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Web site bans Tulsan from posting again
Taylor said after the report was debunked, attention in many circles switched from Leopoldo to him. The Web site where Taylor started the thread has banned him.
TheSmokingGun.com, a Web site known for posting humorous mug shots and reporting on high-profile and odd crime, posted a story about the hoax and included a mug shot of a smiling Taylor after he was arrested Sunday in Tulsa on a public intoxication complaint.
According to a police report, security guards found Taylor passed out in his vehicle, and police officers later found him standing next to the vehicle. He told officers he had nine drinks before heading out for a pack of cigarettes.
Senat said he uses cases like these to illustrate his points in class.
"The lesson is you shouldn’t trust what you see on Web sites if you’re reporting,” Senat said. "That hurts their own credibility. But in the long run, it hurts all news sites’ credibility.”
CONTRIBUTING: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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I find the quotes of the Oklahoma State journalism professor more disingenuous, about “lazy reporting.” There is no more compelling case of lazy reporting than today’s news media in smaller markets. Hardly any investigate any story. Today’s stories fall in two general categories. First, are the statements issued by a public figures, which are invariably positive spins. That is printed as fact. One example was a press announcement out of the attorney general’s office some time back that was nothing but a self promotional piece. A reporter reprinted that the spin verbatim, under the reporters name. On the other hand if a non-public official reports something amiss it is almost universally dismissed. If a reporter does pick up on a report, they simply ask both side to respond to each other.
That is a roundabout way of saying the Oklahoma media functions as a public relations firm for public officials promoting their careers. No better example is economic development where public officials issue releases proclaiming a new program or new company coming to Oklahoma, and stating how many jobs are planned to be created. Those are always inflated numbers. Yet the press never challenges or goes back to followup and report what really happened. The press only wants rosy news if it is wishful thinking. That is a distortion of the truth and is misleading. Certainly not in keeping with the Journalistic Creed.