Chapter 1: When Emergency News Breaks Craig Silverman is an entrepreneurial journalist and the founder and editor of Regret the Error1, a Poynter Institute blog about media errors, accuracy and verification. He has also developed a course2 on digital age verification for the Poynter News University. Craig Silverman serves as director of content for Spundge3, a platform that enables professionals to grow and monetize their expertise through content. Craig Silverman previously helped launch OpenFile, an online news startup that delivered local reporting in six Canadian cities. He is the author of “Regret The Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech”, and his work has been recognized by the U.S. National Press Club, Mirror Awards, Crime Writers of Canada and National Magazine Awards (Canada). He tweets at @craigsilverman4. Rina Tsubaki leads and manages the “Verification Handbook5” and “Emergency Journalism6” initiatives at the European Journalism Centre7 in the Netherlands. Emergency Journalism brings together resources for media professionals reporting in and about volatile situations in the digital age, and Tsubaki has frequently spoken on these topics at events, including a U.N. meeting and the International Journalism Festival. Earlier, she managed several projects focusing on the role of citizens in the changing media landscape, and in 2011 she was the lead contributor of the Internews Europe’s report8 on the role of communication during the March 2011 Japan quake. She has also contributed to Hokkaido Shimbun, a regional daily newspaper in Japan. She tweets at @wildflyingpanda9 “… There is a need on the part of all journalists to never assume anything and to always cross-check and verify in order to remain trusted sources of news and information.” - Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography, The Associated Press After an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern India, it wasn’t long before word circulated that 4,000 buildings had collapsed in one city, causing “innumerable deaths.” Other reports said a college’s main building, and that of the region’s High Court, had also collapsed. 7