It all happened in 15 minutes. At 8:45 p.m., the Penn State student news website Onward State said Joe Paterno died. CBSSports.com picked up the story next, prompting other news outlets to follow. But they got it wrong. It was Paterno's son who made the call to CNN stating Joe Paterno was in critical condition, not dead.
Although Paterno died the following morning, the situation illustrates the problems of a 24-hour news cycle.
According to UF journalism professor Kim Walsh-Childers, the pressure of the cycle can lead journalists to focus more on the immediacy of news rather than the accuracy and importance of the issue.
"What it really comes down to is competition," said Walsh-Childers.
She said the Paterno case was a good example of that immediacy and its potential for inaccuracy. While providing the news in a timely manner can be a good thing, she said, there are those times when having the information so quickly may not be the best for the audience.
"There's a reason you (journalism students) have 50-point fact errors when you make a mistake in a story," she said, "because accuracy matters."
Austin Swink, a 20-year-old sophomore studying political science, sees the cycle as positive, as long as the journalists and the readers use their own judgment. He said the sheer amount of news can make it difficult to do so.
"I've found myself consumed," Swink said, referring to all the news he sometimes takes in at once.
Walsh-Childers said she also sees the benefits and explained the cycle doesn't require a person to follow the same schedule as the newspaper. When it comes to breaking news, it's often posted in small doses of information and updated on a minute-to-minute basis.
Walsh-Childers said a downside to this constant update is that getting the information in short bursts makes people feel informed without really being aware of the issue.
"It's a double-edged sword," she said. "You can't call it all bad because there are times when it is absolutely of huge value."
