Friday, March 20, 2015

News(papers), the first draft of history; social media, the first rant of history


Journalist Alan Barth made the statement,
 "News is only the first rough draft of history"

in a 1943 book review published in The New Republic. Variations on this comment have been made ever since.

Based on the explosive initial reaction to Starbucks' Race Together campaign, I offer a companion statement.
"Social media is the first rant of history."

With Twitter leading the way.

Here's an example of the former.


Print headline:  "Starbucks Faces Fury Online Over Race Conversation"

Here's an example of the latter.

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