Rocky Mountain News "tweets" dead boy's funeral, now (thankfully) being savaged

Rats, I was still holding out hope for the firing. Or the enraged relative giving the guy a knuckle sandwich.

 

I like the way you think, Joe.

 

More defending.

http://www.westword.com/2008-09-25/news/last-rites-on-the-rocky-mountain-news-s-twittering/

"I think it's absurd to say you shouldn't Twitter a funeral, absolutely absurd," Temple announced. "That's like saying you shouldn't write stories about journalism. To me, it's just ignorant. It has no relationship to the reality of reporting. People hunger for information. They want information about live events, and there can be times when it's totally appropriate for some people to want information from a funeral." For example, he said, "I can imagine someone wanting to read a play-by-play of the pope's funeral." As if there were no difference between a funeral for the head of the Catholic Church and a farewell to a previously anonymous toddler.

"You're free to think what you like," Temple continued, "but your thinking is indicative of the stultified, deadly minds that are destroying American news organizations."

 

Jesus F. Christ, that guy's a moron.

 

Nice to see we finally get credit for piling on...

 

More often than I care to admit, I've embarrassed myself by defending my position long past the point when it was tenable. Sometimes you hang on and hang on to your position just out of stubbornness. This is a big part of what's happening here with this man. Someone who has his trust needs to pull him aside and let him know he's embarrassing himself. Not only is what he's defending bad for the profession he presumes to save, but it's poison for humanity and for his soul.

 

The "deadly minds that are destroying American news organizations" are the ones who think that twittering a toddler's funeral is true journalism.

 

I loved how he ripped into the writer, like HE was at fault for all of this.

 

This is absolutely amazing. You know, he's in the sitaution where, as a professional, he should just back off and say the newspaper made a mistake. Instead, he's being a professional asshole.

 

glad to help us get some credit, I suppose ... and glad to be a part of this dog pile -- it's deserved.

a couple of thoughts:

first, um ... john? the pope's funeral is going to be on tv. no one will bring up your web site or any other to read a play-by-play. (and, by calling it a pbp in regards to the pope ... guess that translates to say that what they did was a pbp of the little kid's funeral.)

and to call a funeral a "live event" ... technically, anything that happens, I suppose, is an event. but, to me, the connotation of 'a live event' is something entirely different. an event is a concert. it's a speech. it's a college football game. it isn't a funeral.

and, says, john, "I can tell you now that I could go to a funeral and Twitter it and you'd appreciate it, because I would do it in a sensitive way."
if you say so.

 

"I can tell you now that I could go to a funeral and Twitter it and you'd appreciate it, because I would do it in a sensitive way." Temple says in the westword article.

I think we should take him up on this. We should all encourage him to twitter the next funeral and show us how it's done. That way we could learn something from the master.

 

9:25 a.m. Friday
Pallbearers lug casket out of hearse. Not sure that old dude is gonna make it.

9:27 a.m. Friday
Casket looks like some cheap maple knockoff to this observer. Boy, those funeral home guys are vultures.

9:30 a.m. Friday
How much did the dead guy weigh, anyway? The pallbearers are really sweating. 10-1 the old guy drops his corner.

9:33 Friday
Damn. He made it to the grave. Flowers are nice. But I don't know why anyone spends good money on real flowers. How's the dead guy gonna know?

9:36 Friday
I'm gonna pinch that wreath and give it to my secre ... administrative assistant ... when no one is looking.

9:40 Friday
Minister dude: "Blah, blah, blah." I bet the stiff never set foot in a church.

9:43 Friday
Geez. It's freakin hot out here and it's not even 10 o'clock.

9:45 Friday
Screw it. I'm going for pancakes. I'll come back and pilfer the flowers.