Social Media Playing A Role as Penn State Child Abuse Scandal Unfolds
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (CBS) -- What role are social media site playing in the story of the Penn State sex abuse scandal?
Mark Wishnia, general manager of Penn State's student-run radio station, says they eyes of the entire nation seem to be on the social media tweets and status updates of PSU students.
"Obviously, we live in a world of immediacy, and people are very willing nowadays to broadcast to the world exactly what they're doing at all times," he says. "Penn State students, especially, are right in the middle of everything that's happening, and they are tweeting and posting Facebook status updates as things are happening."
But it's not just students who are tweeting. Media outlets (including CBS Philly) use social networks to get information out quickly.
In fact, Wishnia -- who attended the news conference in which Joe Paterno was fired -- says that information got out even before the news conference was over.
"And one of the questions asked toward the end of the press conference was, 'Do you know that there's people rioting downtown right now?' Because people had started tweeting, 'We're rioting downtown right now.' "
Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio 1060
