How NOT to report a story

Jordan Golson has a great piece for The Industry Standard on how not a single blog bothered to fact-check the "Congress Wants IPhones" story the other day:

The Hill, a popular newspaper covering D.C. and Congress, wrote a story claiming iPhones were well on their way to being offered to members of Congress and their staff. However, the piece, entitled "iPhones are a must-have for Congress," was way off target and made many bloggers who sourced it look foolish. It was "simply inaccurate," according to Jeff Ventura, press secretary for the Chief Administrative Officer for the House of Representatives.

Many blogs wrote up the Hill article as fact and never bothered to follow up with Jeff Ventura, the original source for the story. He was happy to talk about the topic, but he told me I was the second reporter to call him about the story. The first was Roll Call -- the other Congressional paper.