I think that journalist and news media need to come up with a code of conduct for real-time broadcasting – esp. in tense situations where unreliable information is coming through.

Sort of like an acceptable error rate in the news signal.

BTW Nick, your comment above made me laugh – was thinking the exact same thing as I read this post.

But, the BIG question is, is the army or the police or the NSG not aware of the consequences of the information being broadcast, the proximity they give to the journalists and general public from the scene or war, crime or catastrophe, and do they not have sufficient rights or powers to stop sensitive broadcasts being made while the battle or whatever I mentioned above is still on?

Media will try it’s best to cover stories. They may not even be aware of the harm they might be doing in the process, as has been indicated in the blogs and comments, but are the people who are actually involved in solving the problem dumb, or do they not follow any protocol?