Look, I understand how nerve-wrecking the events of the whole week were. I no longer live in Cambridge, but I still have family in Boston. I have friends working at MIT, right at the Stata Building.
But at the same time, and I think this is the point of the article: do you realize how futile was the "constant updating yourself" through the media? First, no matter how frequent and recent are the updates, there is nothing you can do to change the events past. And second, if you are as close to the unfolding of events as you were, you will have better information than the media anyway. For me at least, much more effective than waiting for the radio was a simple call/text/FB ping on the people I knew and I was worried about.
So, for the record, I live a few blocks from the bombing suspects' apartment, and I work less than a block from where the MIT officer was shot. Without following timely updates, I would have had no idea of the following:
- That I was asked to help keep the streets clear
- More specifically, that I should not go to work
- Though it turned out that there was no need for a controlled detonation, if one had occurred less than a mile from my home, the news reports are the only way I'd know what it was. I could have harassed the officers, but I wasn't going to do that either way.
- Later, that it was OK to leave my home
- Still later, that the manhunt was over and my plans in Watertown this morning could proceed as normal
This is all real, actionable information for me that was reported correctly. I think on the average, I'm better off with that information, even if there was also some garbage mixed in.
Also, what would have happened if the owner of the boat hadn't been following breaking news when the stay-home request was lifted? The bombing suspect would likely have died where he was and not been found until morning. Everyone's better off for that sequence of events.
But at the same time, and I think this is the point of the article: do you realize how futile was the "constant updating yourself" through the media? First, no matter how frequent and recent are the updates, there is nothing you can do to change the events past. And second, if you are as close to the unfolding of events as you were, you will have better information than the media anyway. For me at least, much more effective than waiting for the radio was a simple call/text/FB ping on the people I knew and I was worried about.