NPR Explains How It Mistakenly Reported Death of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

It's the cardinal sin for anyone working in news media -- mistakenly reporting someone's death. That's just what happened at National Public Radio, which erroneously reported the death of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the Tucson shooting rampage.

NPR is now publicly outlining how it made such an embarrassing mistake. It appears ready to consider making changes to ensure it never happens again.

Other news outlets also made the same mistake. Their blunder might be attributed to the competitive pressures of commercial media, where there's always a battle to be first with breaking news.

According to NPR, its error didn't come because it had a blinding desire to be first that clouded its commitment to be right. NPR says it had two sources who confirmed the death. The sources turned out to be wrong.

Even before this era of instant information, national media made similar mistakes. The most famous was in 1981, when ABC News mistakenly reported the death of White House Press Sec. James Brady, who was shot in the assassination attempt on Pres. Reagan. A clearly frustrated news anchor Frank Reynolds made an on-air retraction, while saying the network had reports of the death from the hospital and the White House. "Let's get it nailed down, somebody!" Reynolds said on the air.

For news media professionals, these examples show that policies need to be created and followed in reporting deaths. Set guidelines for who is considered a source that can accurately confirm a death. Review who on your staff will verify that the policy has been met before news of a death makes it on air, online or in print. Make sure everyone on staff understands that being correct is better than being first.