The reason there are inaccuracies in the news media is because it's already old by the time it's written about.

In my opinion the inaccuraies occur when something significant (like the Boston marathon bombing) happens. The journalists want to be the first to put the story online so it doesn't matter if the information might not be 100% accurate. Next to that social media plays a big role since it can make a journalist out of anyone. The information is usually not backed up with facts but still newspapers and tv programs use it to be the first with information.

The inaccuracies come from eagerness to stay up to date or before everyone else. The news media are so eager to push content out that they are willing to sacrifice credibility. On the other hand, it is really easy for them to post additional updates as they learn more and more. I think this has evolved into a totally new journalism type.

With so many different sources around, it's hard to check the accuracy of news. People often tend to believe everything they read online.

I also think that social media plays a huge role nowadays. Anyone who happens to be in the neighbourhood of a happening can take a picture or write something about it without knowing the whole story. The 'news' is taken over from Twitter by the media companies without checking it and this is how errors occur. Because of the big competition nowadays in the media world the media are hasty to come up first with the best story.

I believe that media is less accurate nowadays as not only are there so many sources to choose from,even without knowing there trustworthiness, but also because of the amount of sources available and the rapid speed of new news items, people put less stress on adding good content but more stress on being the first on the scene.

I strongly believe that journalists are chasing the limelight into who is getting the information out there first. In succeeding to do so, they may rush with the information and as a result they will deliver incorrect names or information they haven't done (much) research about.

In my country (Romania) for example there are numerous so-called journalists (they barely have any affinity with journalism though) who are doing nothing but spreading rumours. Gossip is their gift and thus they don't even bother to check the reliability of the information, but they are seeking for high ratings on TV as well as online.

There are many unreliable websites that must be avoided. In order to have clear and correct information, you, the target audience, must do research and spend time checking who was right, thus turning all of it into a burden.

I think that, especially in this day and age, a slow shift occurs where quantity rules over quality. Newswebsites and such don't want to deliver the best news first, they want to deliver the most news first so people think they are really good in what they do. Furthermore, these days everyone is a journalist if he/she so desires. Just create a blog, and start posing newsworthy items, there you go. And that is why the news is more and more inaccurate, people have so many options and are bombarded by ''breaking news'' that the value of the news actually seems to go down.

Nowadays we live in a society ruled by information. There is an abundance of news from all around the world and we got used to to find out about everything only seconds after things actually happened. News platforms are interconnected and information gets from point A to B before any information is actually validated simply because the faster someone spreads information the more success they earn. (TV channels, Newspapers,etc.) People demand news 24/7 and therefore there are too many inaccuracies in the news media.

To add up to what most people here are saying, I think the most likely reason for media misreporting and spreading untrue information, is that they want to be the fastest and first to report about the happening. They use sources that haven't been double checked or don't stop to think about the consequences.. (like the boston bombing, causing people to falsely accuse people of a horrible crime)

In a world with myriad news sources, journalists are extremely challenged to be the first to report the latest events. In fact, they always have been, because news is about.. well, announcing something new. However, competition has grown and journalists today have to be a lot more faster, thereby checking less for mistakes and innaccuracies. Another reason why inaccuracy in news is growing has to do with the corruptibility in journalism. We all know how manipulated media are, so it's logical that some news is just serving the interests of a third party. Information itself is very easy to manipulate, because it allows various interpretations and angles from which to be presented.

Any time information is collected and distributed there is room for error. Humans are fallible, we rarely EVER have the full story on anything, and the news simply doesn't have the ability to put out all known information connected to most stories.

That said, biases in reporting outlets and the sense of immediacy demanded by news consumers certainly doesn't help.

Still, we can't put it all on them, especially in the information age. We have the responsibility, and ability, to research many aspects of situations, and train ourselves to better identify bs.

The media look for sensation and want more readers. I think that is the number one cause of inaccuracies in the news media.

If often happens that the initial sources are also unreliable or misleading. Just like some people said before, quantity trumps quality and that goes for many domains. The rapidly changing ones, such as the news, have a lot to suffer also due to competition.