what’s the point?
KIGALI, Rwanda - Some 48 hours after Ian Birrell had a tweet-to with Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, I notice this “breaking news” post on VOA.
Since the “story” broke, the exchange has been extensively blogged. Birrell has been interviewed on Channel 4 TV news. There is a widely re-published AP report. The Twitter conversation that started almost two days ago seems like a very distant memory. And there’s plenty more (more interesting) Rwanda news to read today.
So, what is the point of this non-breaking “breaking news” piece on VOA?
It’s a sickness symptomatic of a tired media. Regurgitation, churnalism, all too indicative of the copy and paste school of hackery.
I do wish media outlets would get over themselves and simply link out to the original/best/most informative/well written/comprehensive/authorative and/or reliable source - regardless of what that source may be - rather than rewrite a wire report.
Yes - You need to be across every story. No - you don’t need to write/own every story.
Intelligent use of links will serve your readers better.
ENDS
