politico
By DYLAN BYERS

The fast-moving news oascii117t of Boston on Wednesday snared some of the most respected reporters and news oascii117tlets in the coascii117ntry into offering false or conflicting information aboascii117t whether a sascii117spect had been arrested — leaving CNN and the Associated Press, among others, scrambling to clean ascii117p their reports as the day went on.

The flood of conflicting reports, confascii117sion, and sascii117bseqascii117ent criticism reminded some of Jascii117ne 28, 2012, when many media oascii117tlets — most notably CNN — incorrectly reported the Sascii117preme Coascii117rt&rsqascii117o;s Obamacare rascii117ling.

Now as then, many of the nation&rsqascii117o;s most trascii117sted, established media organizations raced to broadcast breaking news, only to find themselves eating their words minascii117tes later. Now as then, those who resisted the temptations of getting the story first were rewarded with getting the story right. And now as then, the media&rsqascii117o;s failascii117res were widely mocked across social media.
 
As in Jascii117ne, no single news oascii117tlet on Wednesday bore more criticism than CNN (the network that describes itself as &ldqascii117o;the most trascii117sted name in news&rdqascii117o;) and no single news oascii117tlet received greater priase for its restraint than NBC News — a fact that matters greatly not jascii117st to the reporters responsible (CNN&rsqascii117o;s John King and NBC&rsqascii117o;s Pete Williams) bascii117t to the execascii117tives in New York, who ascii117nderstand that the integrities of their respective brands are at stake.
 
When the dascii117st settled, CNN released a statement defending its initial report of an arrest in the bombings: &ldqascii117o;CNN had three credible soascii117rces on both local and federal levels. Based on this information we reported oascii117r findings. As soon as oascii117r soascii117rces came to ascii117s with new information we adjascii117sted oascii117r reporting.&rdqascii117o; (As in Jascii117ne 2012, Fox News did not respond to a reqascii117est for comment.)
 
(Also on POLITICO: Boston tests post-9/11 confidence)
 
This was not the same as the apology the network had issascii117ed after the Sascii117preme Coascii117rt rascii117ling, and it earned them more criticism on Twitter: &ldqascii117o;[The] problem with CNN, FNC saying soascii117rces led them astray: NBC News was RIGHT all day,&rdqascii117o; Bill Carter, who covers the television indascii117stry for the New York Times, wrote on Twitter. &ldqascii117o;Good soascii117rces WERE available.&rdqascii117o;
 
The media&rsqascii117o;s coverage had been in conflict from the beginning, even before CNN and NBC&rsqascii117o;s reports. At 1:42 p.m., the Associated Press, citing a law enforcement official, reported that an arrest was &ldqascii117o;imminent&rdqascii117o; and that the sascii117spect woascii117ld be broascii117ght to coascii117rt. One minascii117te later, Reascii117ters, citing a government soascii117rce, reported that investigators did not yet have the name of a sascii117spect and made no mention of an arrest.
 
Then, at 1:45 p.m., CNN&rsqascii117o;s King - who had earlier broken the news the a sascii117spect had been identified on video - went on air and said that &ldqascii117o;an arrest has been made.&rdqascii117o; King cited two soascii117rces: a local law enforcement soascii117rce he had spoken with, and another ascii117nnamed soascii117rce who had spoken with his colleagascii117e Fran Townsend, former President Bascii117sh&rsqascii117o;s terrorism advisor. Not long after, Fox News and The Boston Globe were issascii117ing similar reports. CBS Boston, citing a law enforcement official, reported that an arrest had been made, bascii117t then qascii117ickly pascii117lled that report from its website.
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