Tim Russert's Wikipedia Updater Fired By NBC-Affiliate-Contracted Web Firm For Reporting His Death Too Early

Silicon Alley Insider:

The news appeared on Wikipedia 40 minutes before the NBC report, with all of the verbs in Tim's entry changed from present tense to past. It appeared on the New York Times's web site 5 minutes before the NBC story. It zipped around Twitter all afternoon.

All that is to be expected. But here's the scandalous part of the story:

According to the NYT, the person who updated the Wikipedia entry 40 minutes before NBC reported it worked at Internet Broadcasting Services, a company that provides web services to TV stations including NBC affiliates. IBS says a "junior-level employee" changed the Wikipedia entry to reflect Russert's death because he or she thought it was common knowledge. When NBC discovered the entry--and freaked out about it--someone else at IBS deleted the date of Russert's death and changed all of the verb tenses back. And then IBS took care of the employee. NYT:

An I.B.S. spokeswoman...added that the company had "taken the necessary measures with the employee and apologized to NBC." NBC News said it was told the employee was fired."

Fired?

Read the whole story: Silicon Alley Insider

Comments

[Nonamnesiac]

01:16 PM on 06/24/2008

Tim would look down with disgust at Internet Broadcasting Services for simply dismissing a worker who, at worst, made a mistake. Tim was Buffalo working class pedigree -- pro-Union, pro-worker -- not some two-bit, low-life Donald Trump-like "Fire Him" type.

The employee should be immediately reinstated with full backpay, including any lost overtime. At worst, s/he should be counseled.

Tim's memory is severely harmed until this worker is given justice.

[thegirlnextdoor]

02:14 AM on 06/24/2008

Actually, news media withhold the names of the deceased often, whether they are famous or not. You hear it in news stories of accidents of all types, - names with held until the family can be notified."
It is ugly to hear that your father or husband or sister or mother has passed away over the radio or television. And so withholding the name is really a courtesy.

Now, firing the kid who up-dated Wikipedia is extreme and redoing the entry seems a rather silly attempt to appear really really conscientious. When in fact, most of the media seem like a craven fan club.

[TerryFL]

01:27 AM on 06/24/2008

.

Terrorist Alert Level : Pink....now we are totally safe.

.

[gurukalehuru]

01:11 AM on 06/24/2008

Reporter fired for reporting.

[ChicagoBlackRainbowWomen]

09:48 PM on 06/23/2008

Whats that I smell??? Ah yes its the char of scapegoat @ss frying on the griddle of some higher up gold pen.

[TRYKER]

06:00 PM on 06/23/2008

Its highly unlikely that Tim's family was logged onto Wikipedia and found our the news that way, or would have found out that way, so its really a non issue.
But, the way the MSM overdid the Russert death begins to be very suspicious. We are left with the impression that they want to make sure that news talking heads are held in HIGH ESTEEEM and we should believe their every utterance, no matter what they say. Like, "Yes, Mr. Cheney."
Apparently, only second to the Pope, are corporate talking heads on TV.

[zull2]

05:16 PM on 06/23/2008

This, folks, is exactly the sort of thing George Orwell was trying to tell everyone to look out for. Being in the tech field, I feel for that kid. That kid showed initiative, if not a lack of judgment (you talk to your supervisor before you make a live change to something), but firing him is nuts, unless he's been given written notice in the past. Apparently IBS has some big time paranoia about losing that NBC account...wonder if there's a bigger reason for them to be so paranoid?

[RobinSeattle]

06:40 PM on 06/23/2008

Here is the kind of thinking that would have to have occurred on the part of the kid's bosses to decide to fire him:

"Well, people read Wikipedia every minute of the day every day to ensure that Tm Russert (or enter name of your favorite talking head here) is still alive."

Absurd, no?

It is further hard for me to believe that Russert's family wasn't already notified of his death by somebody (law enforcement, doctors, etc) before they told the media. Or the kid who did the Wikipedia entry.

So this was just a case of a boss firing someone because, well, he could. Absolutely laughable.

[rh654]

04:49 PM on 06/23/2008

Lovely to see a "news organization" putting up road blocks to the American people on news that they deem we are not worthy to know until they decide...

[Soundofthunder]

04:15 PM on 06/23/2008

More proof that corporate America is the epitome of imbecilic evil. Humans are playthings for them to rip to pieces. Firing someone over a trivial mistake is becoming the norm. You are either replaceable or make "too much money" (read: a livable salary). Give them the slightest excuse and they'll haul you to the curb like so much trash.

Happy Monday, everyone!

SOT

[CaptainObvious]

03:59 PM on 06/23/2008

"IBS says a "junior-level employee" changed the Wikipedia entry to reflect Russert's death because he or she thought it was common knowledge. When NBC discovered the entry--and freaked out about it--someone else at IBS deleted the date of Russert's death and changed all of the verb tenses back. And then IBS took care of the employee."

In other news, NBC announced plans to change their network call sign to "MoT". A Ministry of Truth (formerly NBC) spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they also plan to change their logo from the celebrated peacock to the shape of a pyramid topped with the "all seeing eye".

[Uosdwis]

03:34 PM on 06/23/2008

Everybody freaks about someone finding about their loved one's death from the media, as if it wouldn't be as terrible as the actual death itself. To me, you've got a race on your hands: whether the first, closest, person to the death can reach the relative on a cell phone before the news can broadcast it. If the death is at home, it's a lot easier. But Russert died in the NEWSROOM. But still, the internet guy probably should've waited until the Brokaw announcement, if he wasn't beaten to the punch by anyone else. The beauty of Wikipedia is we have the record of who did what and when.

[Arielman]

02:35 PM on 06/23/2008

NBC spent many months with a crew in Vietnam, trying to get the "soldiers point of view" according to Edwin Newman who read a letter canceling the investigative reporting team there as part of a eulogy in the UN Chapel for George Murray, a one-time director of "Huntley and Brinkley" and an award winning television news producer for "NBC Nightly News" (or/and "From New York") which stated the reason as "higher ups" after months of dangerous work and expenses. Though this story reminded me of it, I find that it seems a little odd, and wonder if there might be more to the story as there was Mr. Murray, a former US Army Captain and veteran of the Korean Conflict. If not, what were the "higher ups" doing during the hiatus?

[Myshkin57]

01:41 PM on 06/23/2008

Why are they firing that person? It was an honest mistake. They should also be sensitive to the fact that many people in the industry might not have been running on all cylinders right then. NBC should fight to save that person's job. Put him or her on probation, maybe, but don't fire someone for doing their job and making a minor mistake on a day when the entire media was shaken.

[LoyalOpposition]

02:00 PM on 06/23/2008

Yet another reason why workers, who in today's economy are treated like a used tissue, should form strong unions with others. Strength in numbers . . .

[Eric8869]

02:21 PM on 06/23/2008

Unfortunately the unions end up backing ALL employees - even the ones who are incompetent, lazy or bad at their jobs. Therefore the unions will never be as strong as they could be.

The unions SHOULD be for the workers who are good workers doing the right thing AND protecting the interests of the business. They lose all credibility when they support bad employees.

[barackobama4prez]

01:25 PM on 06/23/2008

fired, for overcompetence

[revko]

10:55 AM on 06/23/2008

"News of my death is 40 minutes premature"
(apologies to Mark Twain)