Chicago Stations Rush to Be First, Don't Worry About Being Right

Depending on which news station viewers in Chicago turned to, they found out that Carly Rousso, the woman convicted of homicide after she huffed computer cleaner then struck and killed 5-year-old Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento on Labor Day 2012, go sentenced to prison from somewhere between 3 and 9 years.

It appears that NBC O&O WMAQ and Tribune owned WGN, were more wrapped up in reporting the news first, than getting it right.

Robert Feder reports that Lake County Judge James Booras sentenced the 20-year-old Russo to five years in prison for reckless homicide and four years in prison for aggravated DUI, with the sentences to be served concurrently (which means at the same time).

So how was it reported?

NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 was first to break the news online and on mobile devices with this inaccurate report:

WGN was next to report the news, they were neither first, or right:

At the top of WMAQ'a 4:30 p.m. newscast, Reporter Christian Farr told viewers Russo would spend “three years” in prison without further explanation. Even after correcting the headline on its post to “five years,” the text of the online story still said “nine years.”

Both stations did correctly report that Rousso will get prison time.

Well? That's something.....