There's nothing better than people getting practical jokes played on them. I know that when I should be watching something of value (Meet the Press, Headline News, etc.), it's hard to change the channel from Punk'd.
But when a practical joke hits the media, as has been done many times before, it brings into question how far people dig for the truth. One of the first rules of journalism is to have at least two, if not more, credible sources for conforming all facts. Still, Crain's Chicago Business was hit by the April Fool's Day bug this weekend when Time Out Chicago, a high-class local magazine, hand delivered a press release stating the one and only Donald was taking control of the magazine. I'll skip re-explaining the results and let Crain's plead their case.
In the world of web updates and Internet competition, there's often a rush to be the first with the day's biggest news. The peril in this becomes credibility and the act of triple checking facts. Crain's wasn't able to confirm this information with Time Out Chicago (the fake contact number was part of the ruse), but still chose to run the update with the one source. It's often hard to believe, especially when it hits you, but information can be made up so easily that it's difficult to check every bit. Still, it seems as though there needs to be some gatekeeper for releasing information that seems even a little bit suspicious.
In this instance, Crain's Chicago Business apparently fell victim to what some would call a harmless joke. But it reveals a hitch in the journalistic process that needs to be remedied.
For their incompetence, I'm sure Donald Trump would have only two words for Crain's Chicago: You're Fired!
(I couldn't help myself).
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