Methinks He Doth Protest Too Much

Lest you think that hissy fits are just for teenage girls or little boys who didn't get enough sleep, it happens to those from whom we expect (and indeed often reply on for) serious resolve and information.  Like, say, financial reporters.

I'm not quite sure what it is about people at Fox News -- I'd suggest it's a sense of entitlement, except that we know they're against entitlements -- but their reporter at the little-watched Fox Business channel, Charles Gasparino, went on another of his TwitterRants, not only insulting colleagues but also slamming their publications.

It seems that Gasparino reported a rumor that proved not to be true, and he was taken to task for it.  This didn't sit well with the fellow.  After all, as he tweeted, he did tweet that "If" it was true, and that of course makes everything okay.  Except for the fact that serious journalists tend to avoid reporting rumors until such things are substantiated, particularly since even the mere report of a rumor can be damaging.  And when they do report a rumor, the responsible ones do their best to avoid doing so on Twitter, that is hardly a venue for nuance.   They'll instead do a more detailed report on where the rumors are coming from and why they might have more meaning to them for what they indicate, whether true or not.  But for a professional journalist to just "tweet" a rumor is pretty shoddy, even if they say "if."

Buzzfeed offers the full list of Mr. Gasparino's latest meltdown, followed with a wonderful tweet from Dan Mitchell of The Tech Economy that puts it all in proper perspective.  The article is a touch unfair when it ridicules Gasparino for his use of teenage shorthand in his notes, since it seems that half of Twitter uses such phrases as "ur" (though it does seem hilarious to chide someone to learn to read while "ur" using such shorthand...).  But other than that the fellow does a pretty fair job demeaning himself all on his own.

You can read it here.