Huge shout out to the Baltimore Police Department for paying attention to what people are saying on social media.
I know they deserve applause and congratulations for so much more while they are also being ridiculed and challenged at every turn of the page right now but this is a very specific post.
The BPD has been dealing with so much and keeping the public and media updated with updates of weekend and overnight occurrences along with answering questions but they have also been updating the public and media to current events and calls for services.
This is where things went sideways with Fox News making a grave assumption based separate tweets and tying unrelated events together.
Baltimore Police were right on top of the information keeping things straight and avoiding a potential blow up making sure the words “NOT True” were highlighted.
The reports of a man being shot at North and Pennsylvania Ave are NOT true. Officers have arrested a man for a handgun at the location
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) May 4, 2015
Fox News showed class with their simple apology.
Well done Baltimore Police for monitoring the information streams to not only being a voice of authority and keeping info current, but also for being there to correct false information and provide the facts.
Well done Fox News for being quick to see your mistake and apologizing for the miscommunication.
Lessons Learned:
- Don’t assume anything…your audience deserves the facts.
- When you make a mistake own it, apologize, fix it…your audience will benefit.
- When you correct someone, do it with class…don’t embarrass anyone, your audience will respect that.
