In a recent news article from Austin360.com‘s Omar Gallaga he reported on the news about the news that surrounded the death of the King of Pop (..tear..), and I think, got something right on.
The basic analysis is that TMZ, a celebrity gossip site and atrocious television show (honestly I want to hurt myself when Molly puts it on, it’s possible worse than the Hills) beat out CNN as the faster, more reliable news source. I’ll give them that (for celebrity gossip only) considering they have 100s of free lancers stalking the protagonists of their “news worthy” news stories (before they even make the story).
It’s an interesting point, but this quote is really sums up what has happened:
It was a make-or-break moment for TMZ: …a clearer signal that the torch for breaking-news coverage had been passed from cable news to scrappy online news sites. The 24-hour news cycle may now be closer to 24 minutes.
So thanks Twitter, for giving ADHD to our ADD.