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I'm not sure exactly how it is in the rest of the world, but around my parts I have begun noticing something that I find alarming. With an increased frequency traditional media, like newspapers primarily, have been reporting rumors as absolute fact and unquestionable truth. A few examples are in order to clarify just what I mean.

Earlier this week there was the report of an old Apple patent dating to late 2009 that could in theory make photography unavailable if the right information was transmitted to the camera via infra-red light. Nothing new or strange with that for us that often read on tech-centric blogs and news sites, but apparently this is not something done at many newspapers. They reported in a way that directly implied that Apple was going to make it impossible to take photos and record videos at concerts and such, while nowhere in the article bothering to mention neither the fact that it was an old patent nor that many patents never make the transition to actual product.

The other day Bloomberg published its speculation over when the next generation iPhone will arrive and what it will have in terms of technical specifications. Again, nothing wrong with that as Bloomberg is a very large and respected establishment. Problem is that the report was once again made to imply that this speculation is not rumor or speculation, but fact. Some newspapers went as far as to write that "Apple didn't comment" regarding the validity of the information, which makes it better in those cases. Otherwise, it's the same story of taking unverified information and publishing it as fact.

These are just the two examples I could reference out of my head since I'm a tech nerd, I'm sure you could think up a few of your own. It just worries me that established, traditional media is doing a worse job of reporting these things than what even your average amateur blogger does. If these institutions are to retain credibility in this brave new world where anyone can start their own publication online, wouldn't it be wise for them to not obfuscate facts? To actually perform their jobs and publish the truth in full while being factual?

This doesn't just happen with newspapers though, as I see pretty much the same thing happen in specialized magazines and their respective websites too. Rumor is seen, quickly written about and the "publish" button is pushed without much afterthought or analysis. Of course there are several exceptions that confirm the rule, so to speak. But the ones with the better reporting oddly enough seem to be the ones without a physical publishing of any kind. Given how the traditional media likes to portray the bloggers and online news sites, I'd say they need to start checking the right sites and get their facts straight. Not to mention stop writing sensationalist headlines to lure people into reading their often crummy articles on their equally crummy websites.

As old media seem to struggle in the modern world, you can almost always extrapolate this into more than just tech-centric news. More often than not do large newspapers and other new outlets let headlines become sensationalistic while the actual articles contain so many errors it's just silly. In my opinion, of course. Perhaps this will all pan out over time and old and new can live together in harmony, for the better of all. I'd just wish those who are supposed to represent the very best in journalism didn't behave like a freshly baked blogger.

Robert Falck

Robert is a freelance tech journalist from Sweden. You can follow his posts here on Bagel Tech and on his site streakmachine.com or you can follow him on twitter @streakmachine.

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Robert Falck

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