Feb. 3, Tony Pederson, Professor of Journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece lamenting the insensitive way some social media and news organizations cover breaking big stories such as the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and others in the helicopter crash. Published in the Austin American-Statesman: http://bit.ly/386vRGY
The controversy over the suspension and rapid reinstatement of a Washington Post reporter after a social media firestorm over coverage of Kobe Bryant’s death illustrates all too well news in the digital age. In the hours after the report that the NBA legend had died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles, reporter Felicia Sonmez sent a tweet with a link to a story on a years-old sexual assault allegation.
Bryant in 2003 was accused of assaulting a 19-year-old hotel employee in Colorado. The criminal charges were dropped. A civil lawsuit resulted in an undisclosed settlement. Bryant maintained the sex was consensual. It should be noted that Bryant in 2001 had married Vanessa Lane, the mother of his four children. One of the daughters, Gianna, 13, also died in the crash Sunday, as did seven others. . .
Continue reading “Coverage of Bryant tragedy left some ugly marks”