Media

The Newtown, Connecticut shooting had me glued to information like most others in the United States. I found myself soaking up as much information as I could through news sources on the web. I avoided all television coverage since we are not discussing it in front of our youngest son who is a kindergartener. He has an extreme love for school and I would never want him to be scared to attend.

What I found from watching the internet coverage is that we may not be a better world for being able to get the news the second it happens. Most of the people who read this blog know I work for a newspaper. When we run a story in the newspaper things must be verified sometimes multiple times before we print them. In the case of the online news and at times the television news that covered this particular story we received misinformation and things that were not even close to true.

The police have to have time to do their jobs. However, with the thirst for knowledge that we now have we don't give them that time before the reporting starts. In doing this we do a disservice to those who read the news. When this started it was reported that the killer was the older brother. Television news sites showed the picture of the older brother from his Facebook page. This brother we later learned was not the killer and hadn't spoken to his brother in two years.

Stories circulated about the killer's mother. Saying she was first a kindergarten teacher and it was her class that had been killed. Later it was reported she was a substitute teacher at the school. Finally it has come out that she is not a teacher at all and never has been. Reporting of this type does not help anyone. It hurts people. Not only the people who are falsely accused of crimes they did not commit or were a part of but also the victims families.

I am guilty as many in wanting to know what is happening right away. However, I would prefer to get "we have no new information at this time" than get false reports that fuel the fire of an investigation like this. The police and investigators have a job to do. Their first job is not to report to the media but to find out what occurred. The media has a job to do as well. It is to report factual information to the public.

Social media has had many positive effects on the world today. Twitter let's us feel like we are right in the middle of the action. However, there are cases where we shouldn't be in the middle of the action. When information is not available perhaps being in the middle of the action does more harm than good. Facebook has also not helped with the spread of rumors. The number of pictures that have been posted and continue to be posted with inaccurate information is alarming. There are people who only get their news from Facebook. Think about that for a few moments. They have read quotes attributed to Morgan Freeman that he never said, they have read accounts of heroism that while the person in the photo is certainly a hero the description is something that another did and lived to tell, and I am pretty certain they are sure the world will end on Friday.

While media certainly is important I think it is time to take a step back as a whole and reevaluate how things are reported in cases such as this. If I were a parent of one of the children or adults I would be beside myself over the loss of my loved one and the half truths would not help me feel any more at ease. For the social media crowd may I suggest a wonderful site called www.snopes.com. They are perfect for checking out things before you post them on Facebook so you don't look like a complete idiot later.

Christmas time is here...so is finals week!!

Where has this year gone? It was just Halloween a couple weeks ago right? When I stop to look at a calendar I see that Halloween was over a month ago and Thanksgiving is past and here it is almost Christmas.

I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time. In year's past we have gone out to eat but this year I wanted us to be at someone's home around the table as a family. I must say it wasn't as horrible as the nightmares I had leading up to it. I did what I do anytime I have to make something I turned to Pinterest. We started off by making the Dollar Store plates with the Sharpies that is floating all over Pinterest. Let me just say these were an epic FAIL! We made them exactly like the directions said and then ran them through the dishwasher where they lost a small amount of ink. We sit down to dinner and I notice that mashed potatoes on my plate are turning red. The ink bled into the food! Thank God I served cranberry sauce so everyone else just thought the red was from that.

Some things from Pinterest that did work were mini pumpkin and Toll House pies, green bean casserole and sugar cone cornucopias. To see my review on anything I try from Pinterest feel free to follow me on there. My name on Pinterest is Mollie Purcell. I have one board dedicated to things I have tried. Good or bad the review goes there.

So now our tree is decorated and the outside lights are hung. The shopping is done and the presents are wrapped. This weekend is Ben's birthday, his parents and sister are coming to visit and it is the church Christmas play for the boys. Sounds like it is going to be another busy one.

Ben is gearing up for finals week which is next week. He has struggled with some of the classes so far and I know he is worried about his finals. I want nothing more than for him to succeed at this. I know he can do it. I don't look to see much of him over the next two weeks he will be holed up in his office studying like crazy.

I had an interview last Friday for a promotion at work. It was a two hour interview with the publisher at our newspaper and the vice president of the company. What will be will be. It is all in God's hands now but I felt it went fantastic. Best I have felt leaving an interview ever.

One last thing before I close this today. During this time when we spend so much money on people and buy things that are not only not needed but in some cases are not wanted please remember those who are less fortunate than we are. If you are in Salina the Salina Area Food Bank is out of four staple items: tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and crackers. If you can make a donation please do. I am certain there is someone on your Christmas list who would appreciate a card or handwritten note that says we are thinking of you and have made a donation to the food bank in your honor.