Maybe She Died This Way, No That Way!

The news organizations plastered their stations, newshole and online headlines with coverage once someone killed Pakistani political leader and hero Benazir Bhutto yesterday - and they haven't stopped down yet.

But that may be the problem.

These outlets, even the reputable ones, are in a fury to release the latest and "truest" information about Bhutto's death.

CNN slipped several times. I've checked its website three times today. Bhutto dies from bullet wounds. No wait, Bhutto dies from shrapnel, no gun shots. Scratch that, she hit her head on the sunroof and her skull fractured.

Now CNN's backing off, realizing its missteps. It's essentially saying, "XYZ says Bhutto died from the sunroof, but we're not saying that." Earlier the network was saying, "BHUTTO DIED FROM XYZ". They went from certainty to cautious, sourced reporting.

The lesson to learn is that you shouldn't race to claim a cause of death if it's wrong. Oh, then you'll just release a new cause of death and it'll be right - oh no, wrong AGAIN! Slow down and get the facts right, chief.

The first three grafs (paragraphs) of this story indicate how CNN has backed off as the day and the varying reports were relased.

Have a look: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/28/pakistan.friday/index.html