Cleland issued a “decorum order” last Wednesday that said representatives of news organizations could bring tools such as cellphones, laptops and smartphones into the courtoom, but cameras would not be permitted and members of the press using devices could not “record or broadcast any verbatim account of the proceedings while court was in session.
—Jerry Sandusky trial starts today, with no tweeting or courtroom blogging
Social media and technology is an essential part of any reporter’s toolkit. So why are we banning them from one of the biggest stories of the moment? If “verbatim accounts” are prohibited, how is that setting any sort of standard for accuracy. Journalists get a bad rap, but I’m sorry, I don’t think this will help. The big guys of the journalism world agree; the article notes that “press organizations including the Patriot-News, the Associated Press, The New York Times and the Philadelphia Media Network filed a motion Friday to clarify the decorum order.”
Katelyn Garmong 