Rocky Mountain News plan to Twitter another funeral canceled after staff complaint
The Rocky Mountain News became the target of criticism within the journalism community after the paper assigned a reporter to use the micro-blogging service Twitter to provide minute-by-minute updates at the funeral of three-year-old Marten Kudlis. Now, sources within the paper confirm that editors had planned to have a reporter Twitter a second funeral that week only to back off following at least one complaint from a staffer.
The service in question involved one of the two adult women who died in the same automobile crash that killed young Kudlis. According to an e-mail provided to Westword, a staffer "went to the editors during and after Marten's funeral and expressed concern" about Twittering another event of this type, particularly given the cringeworthy updates coming in from the Kudlis interment. Editors subsequently "realized it wasn't a good idea and the person assigned to the 7 p.m. Twitter... was taken off it." Also removed: the Twitter updates from the Kudlis funeral article linked above.
The insider adds that the Rocky had planned to Twitter the funeral of murdered Adams County prosecutor Sean May the previous week, only to be foiled when May's family declined to let reporters inside the service.
Another Twittering mishap at the Rocky was much more humorous; it involved the accidental publication of a profanity and the feverish methods used to strip it from surfers' screens. Read about it here, and keep an eye out for an upcoming Message column for more on the topic. -- Michael Roberts
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