Comments on: NoTW Lesson: The Coverup Is Usually More Damaging Than The Original Crime http://paidcontent.org/2011/07/13/419-notw-lesson-the-coverup-is-usually-more-damaging-than-the-original-crim/ The economics of digital content Sat, 25 May 2013 21:53:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Andrew Boer http://paidcontent.org/2011/07/13/419-notw-lesson-the-coverup-is-usually-more-damaging-than-the-original-crim/#comment-84537 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:50:59 +0000 http://paidcontent.wp.gostage.it/2011/07/13/419-notw-lesson-the-coverup-is-usually-more-damaging-than-the-original-crim/#comment-84537 I think you make a great point about the importance of a publishing brand’s journalistic credibility — but I think for most brands we are well past that point as readers and consumers of media.   Forget Jayson Blair’s making up facts — many believe that a major contributing factor for our entering a ten year war (that crippled our economy) was because people relied on and trusted the journalistic integrity of the New York Times in regard to WMD. 
 
A few brands might be able to survive based on a limited mission, a high level of trust, and great editing (say the Economist), but many (and I think the Huffington Post is a perfect example of this) are going to be judged and trusted not at the domain or brand level — but at the author and article level.

PS  I haven’t really followed the NoTW story, but my impression was that involved phone-hacking to get a story. That may be awful, illegal and unethical behavior, but if I were a consumer of that kind of content, I would still consider the stories they printed highly credible.

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