New Media Driving Old

Interesting articles today in Media Post Online about how online media got the scoop on two stories before mainstream mass media. Yesterday a big news report in all media, including various online news alerts, was how CBS gave its new anchor, Katie Couric, instant weight loss by photoshopping a promotional picture.

So who developed this story? No, it wasn’t the Associated Press or CBS; it was a blogger from MediaBistro’s TV Newser site.

The big issue for bloggers is that TV Newser did not receive credit for the story. The mass media took the story like a bunch of swarming bees but never cited the source. Does the word plagiarism come to mind?

Another, perhaps more serious story is from a whistle-blower at Lockheed Martin who is accusing the company of selling $24 billion in refurbished boats to the Coast Guard. The accuser tried to use "proper" channels to disclose his story — first internal management at his company, then the AP and The Washington Post — but didn’t get a satisfactory response.

Not willing to give up, the accuser took his message online and sent a 10-minute video to YouTube. It wasn’t until it was aired on YouTube that mainstream media picked up the story.

Mainstream mass media needs to wake up and start looking over their shoulder to realize that online media is growing … with more credible content that is available to people faster than traditional mass media.