Sunday, January 4, 2015

Project: Identity Lake Worth

This item appeared on the Facebook page Lake Worth Local:
This "news" was originally posted on the Palm Beach County Alerts Facebook page. The person who hosts this site writes this about his experience: "I have worked in Emergency Services for the past 18 years, and I post breaking news/incidents in Palm Beach County!" It really is a cool thing and acts a lot like a police/fire scanner for the Internet age.

The location of this incident was not in the City of Lake Worth. State Street is located south of the Walmart on 10th Ave North, outside the city limits of Lake Worth. For the person who hosts the Palm Beach County Alerts site please read this and educate yourself on what is Lake Worth and what is not Lake Worth. Hint: just because someone has a Lake Worth mailing address is irrelevant as it relates to city boundaries. There should be a clear distinction between Lake Worth and Suburban Lake Worth, as other blog posts here and here attest. 

It does seem that the message is getting across. Imagine if the City of Lake Worth did this on its own Facebook and Twitter accounts in an official capacity? That would be quite a change agent in people's minds. We'll continue to wait for those official announcements, hopefully not too far in the future.

Location is a critical part of a news story. Get it wrong and you put your own credibility on the line. Continued sloppy misreporting without needed correction erodes the city's identity and its many positive qualities.