As I listen to reporters (ahem... sorry, journalists) these days, I find myself asking the question, what happened to the quality work that we used to see. Fact checking seems to have been replaced by sound bites, truth has become relative, and occasionally, the reporting becomes downright humorous.
This was once again illustrated to me when I was listening to a reporter on the radio interviewing a witness to some gunplay. The conversation went as follows:
Reporter: We are reporting from the scene of the shooting, and are speaking with Bernice (real names withheld) Bernice, we understand you were here during the shooting?
Bernice: Yes
Reporter: Would you tell us what happened?
Bernice: Well, we were standing here, and heard a some yelling, then suddenly we heard three shots!
Reporter: And what did that sound like?
Bernice: Bang! Bang! Bang!
Reporter: An there you have it, live from the scene of the shooting, back to you.......
Seriously? Bang, bang, bang? I was hoping for a description of the suspect, more detailed information on the situation, but alas, I was left with an impression of the sound effects!













