Online Gossip: Out Of Control Or Reflection Of Real Life?
Pssssst -- a quick posting today to mention a story I'm finishing for tonight's Evening News with Katie Couric. It's all about gossip. And that's no rumor. It's primarily about sites that cater to college students like Juicycampus.com and JHUConfessions.com. The operator of Juicycampus (2005 Duke grad Matt Ivester) wouldn't speak to us despite repeated attempts to get him on camera. But the founder of JHUConfessions, which focuses on Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, did speak to us. He's a physics/astronomy grad named Andy Mann, and he was pretty candid in saying that the older generation just doesn't "get it," and that sites like his provide a worthwhile forum for young people to engage in a wide variety of subjects. But we also talk to a Pepperdine University student who was quite hurt by what was written about him on Juicycampus.
Video: In any case, the trend hardly seems to be slowing down (although it will cool somewhat during the summer months). So is it simply free speech at work or should there be a limit to what's tolerated on these types of sites? I hope you'll tune in tonight.