http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/opinion/17friedman.html?hp

Thomas Friedman's column in today's New York Times, "Too good to check," is pertinent to last week's discussion in class about the role of journalists, and the importance of checking facts and sources. The rumor that Obama's Asia trip would cost $200 million a day travelled far before being checked and debunked by Anderson Cooper/CNN, after Minnesota Republican Michele Bachman stated as fact the projected expense on his show. But the rumor had already spread through the web.

Friedman nails the significant damage this kind of "journalism" can do:

"When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, we have a problem. It becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues — deficit reduction, health care, taxes, energy/climate — let alone act on them. Facts, opinions and fabrications just blend together. But the carnival barkers that so dominate our public debate today are not going away — and neither is the Internet."

But I am skeptical that his concluding hope (below) will come to pass.

"All you can hope is that more people will do what Cooper did — so when the next crazy lie races around the world, people’s first instinct will be to doubt it, not repeat it."

I think it is significant, considering our discussion last week, that Friedman does not expect readers to check facts. Readers are unlikely to have the information or contacts to be able to do an accurate fact check.