Perfect Microcosm of What's Wrong

With The Media Today

Little microcosm of what's wrong with media today:  


First the story that goes viral on a wrong 1st impression: 


http://deadspin.com/5905250/worst-people-ever-catch-foul-ball-refuse-to-give-it-to-a-crying-child-are-vilified-by-michael-kay

An unfortunate scene unfolded in Arlington tonight as a pair of Rangers fans caught a foul ball tossed into the stands by Mitch Moreland in the eighth inning of Rangers-Yankees, then refused to give the ball to the toddler sitting next to them—instead choosing to pose for pictures and generally behave like douchebags.

Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay—capturing the thoughts of America for probably the first time ever—chided the couple for "rubbing it in the kid's face," and since this couple deserves to be publicly shamed for being dicks to a little kid, here they are. [YES]

Then the actual facts catch up to provide the context about what actually happened: 


http://moms.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/27/11428418-crying-baseball-tots-mom-he-doesnt-get-everything-all-the-time?lite

Three-year-old Cameron Shores burst into tears when he narrowly lost out on catching a foul ball tossed into the stands to a couple sitting next to his family at a Texas Rangers-New York Yankees game. The couple, Shannon Moore and Sean Leonard, became instant viral video villains when the footage hit the 'net. 

But sometimes a picture isn’t worth a thousand words. Sometimes stories require context. The Shores told their tale of baseballs lost and baseballs gained on TODAY Friday.

“I felt sorry for Cameron and for the other couple because they were made out to be such horrible, cold-hearted people and I didn’t get that impression from them at all,” said Cameron’s mother, Crystal. “They were very sweet and they talked to Cameron a lot."

The couple was attending their first baseball game and are getting married Saturday. They actually offered the toddler the ball, but his parents turned down the gift.

Of course, the offering of the ball to the toddler, and the parent's turning it down happened before the cameras got focused on them.  


We live in an age where people will 'instantly' tell you they 'know' what is happening based on very flimsy - or even no - evidence at all.  This one was quickly corrected.  No harm no foul!


Hey! Can anybody think of another example where the media rushed out a first impression of a story that turned out to be wrong?