One would have assumed that the vice president of the US would have his own information networks, and I'm sure he had, but when the big TV networks said Bush was the winner, Gore bowed. Of course, the networks were wrong. Hungry to be first with the news, then fearful of being last when another station took the initiative, the networks failed in their primary function. The networks are supposed to give us the right information in a timely manner, but what they did was give us the wrong information at breakneck speed. We all realise the value of correct information.
Inaccurate information leads to bad decisions.
If organisations truly recognised the cost of inaccurate information, there would be a lot more attention paid to what's found on websites. The TV networks got it fundamentally wrong with regard to the US elections. Their robust publishing standards wilted under the heat of speed. But at least they had publishing standards. Much of what gets on the internet has undergone relatively little editorial control.