Blogging can be an excuse for lazy journalism

In a Friday post on domestic assault charges brought against a former TNGOP spokesperson published shortly after those charges were publicized, Tennessean reporter Jennifer Brooks seems to make a leap before confirming her conclusions. Not long after commenters with the names "Bill Hobbs" and "Anna Hobbs" replied to posts on charges against Bill Hobbs, Ms. Brooks writes that Mr. Hobbs and his wife were "telling their stories."



However, Ms. Brooks gave no indication that she had confirmed with either Mr. or Ms. Hobbs that they were the actual commenters. Let's hope blogs are not making journalists as dilatory as journalists accuse bloggers of being.