Monday, June 13, 2005
Cyberspace Races to Offer Jackson Verdict
Source: CNET While all the major news sites had posted word that a verdict was coming, there was a scramble to find the fastest way to deliver the news that a jury had found the "King of Pop" not guilty of all 10 charges in the closely watched child molestation case.
News sites used the event as a chance to experiment with methods of getting news out quickly. CNN.com, for example, put a scorecardlike page up ahead of the verdict, with a color-coded system in place to mark "guilty" or "not guilty," as each juror's specific decision was read.
But rival MSNBC.com appeared to get the news out first with a breaking news alert at the top of its screen that said simply: "Jury finds Jackson find not guilty of lewd act on child."
However, in a sign that automated news sites may have some work to do to catch up with their human-powered counterparts, the Jackson verdict was not prominently featured on the Google News site several minutes after the decision was read.
The Web was already in high gear just on word that a verdict had been reached. An animated siren graphic rotated atop the Drudge Report, later upgraded to two sirens as the decision neared. "Jacko Jury Reaches Verdict" screamed a banner on Fox News' Web site. CNN's Web site featured a photo of a fan covering her eyes while waiting for the verdict with the headline "Tense times for Jackson's fans outside court."
# posted by ATN @ 7:35 PM 
