Anatomy of a Rumor: The Story Behind Chief Justice John Roberts’s ‘Retirement’

Clearly a student sent out an immediate tweet on what the law prof said. I would feel even worse if this happened in a journalism class but this is a good teaching experience for journalists.

This episode shows the down side of tweets and blogs. Going straight from source’s mouth to the world prevents those vital few minutes to mull over what was said and the necessary follow up questions. It also skips the vital editorial process.

Everyone of my stories was made better because of questions editors raised. I’m not a bad writer but my editors make me look a whole lot better. (One editor I once worked for, when interviewing new hires, would ask for not just the individual’s published clips but also the first drafts. She wanted to see how much of what was published was the result of the editor and the writer.)

As much as I hate quoting Ronald Reagan: “Trust but verify.”

And then there is the old newspaper chestnut: “If you mother says she loves you, check it out.“