On bloggers, scoops, rumour mongers and journalistic hacks

Tom Benjamin.

He lets it all hang out in this one, and gets it right each time.

I'd add that the reason there is a temptation for guys like Shoalts not to check their story is as follows;

- so long as Shoalts doesn't call Bowman and runs the story, Leaf nation will be reading nothing else but his story until it is proven false.

- running the story and being proven false is actually not such a bad thing. Shoalts has to eat a little crow, but he'll still have a rep with Leaf nation of being on the inside, even though he was dead wrong.

And here's the kicker

- if Shoalts actually calls Bowman and finds out that the story is bogus - he has no story, no Leaf nation readership hailing him as a genius, nada.

So the big incentive is for him to run it without checking - and that is where the problem lies.