[Ryan] Lanza’s ability to post about his innocence, and mine to see it and relay it to people, is only a social media success story if you don’t question the necessity of dragging an alleged suspect’s possible Facebook profile into the limelight where he’ll be called a mass murderer of children. Other than that, yeah, tweeting’s fun.
I am Facebook Friends with Ryan Lanza, Which Became a Problem — Matt Bors (via susie-c)
I wrote a FB comment on this issue yesterday, part of which I think is relevant to Bors’ situation:
“I’m reminded of the case of Richard Jewell, the man who found the bomb on the grounds of Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996. He found the bomb minutes before the 911 call was made, only to find himself the target of an intense trial by media — a case which, by the way, led to a number of libel suits, including against The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jewell died at a fairly young age, the victim of significant health issues which likely weren’t helped by his media ordeal.”
“What happened yesterday with Ryan Lanza was like the entire Richard Jewell ordeal, compressed into two hours. That is not healthy for our industry nor is it something that we got into journalism school for.”
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