Wither Journalism Again!!!

As most people who read/watch/listen to any news would know, last Saturday May 21st, 2011 was Judgment Day.  This was the day of rapture and the world would be coming to an end.   Apparently some nutjob of a preacher in Alameda, California said so and "journalists" the world over rushed to interview him and put him on the news.

Well as it turned out, the world did not end.  He now claims to have miscalculated.  Thus more ink (if ink is still used) was spilt on further reporting of Preacher Nut Job.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/995652--preacher-says-he-was-5-months-off-judgment-day-will-occur-in-october?bn=1

Much has been written about the growing irrelevance of traditional media in the internet age.  Why watch CNN when you can follow the trending topics on Twitter?  Amidst the hand wringing about the death spiral of journalism, we find 'journalists' publishing stories about the end of the world as predicted by Preacher Nut Job.

I'd like to ask the major newspapers who reported on this story what their standards for reporting are?  Does any mentally ill person with a following deserve prime time interviews?  Perhaps the newspaper barons (if they still exist) feel they missed the boat on David Koresh and don't want to let the next one get away.

I am not merely expressing irritation through sarcasm.  There is a story about a man in New York who spent his life savings buying ads to let everyone know that the world was ending.  By giving a mainstream platform to people like this, there is a real risk of real harm being done to gullible people.  "Hey it must be true, the New York Times printed it!"

There are enough gullible people in this world (many of them working as journalists) that the media should have some standards for what they report.....or just get bought out by the National Enquirer.