Joe Paterno Dies
Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died yesterday following a battle with lung cancer. He was 85. On Saturday, CBS Sports had mistakenly reported Paterno’s death. He was, however, in a serious condition. Paterno’s family quickly denied the report, but not before it was tweeted or reported by a slew of other media outlets. Managing editor Mark Swanson said CBS Sports had relied on “an unsubstantiated report” and failed to verify it. CBS said it had based its report on a Penn State student website, Onward State. The managing editor of the student site resigned Saturday night, saying he never expected its reporting to be picked up by the national media. Paterno, the winningest coach in college football, was fired last year in the fallout from the Penn State child molestation scandal. He was accused of telling his superiors, but not police, when he learned that assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of raping a boy. Sandusky has pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse charges. Paterno has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died yesterday following a battle with lung cancer. He was 85. On Saturday, CBS Sports had mistakenly reported Paterno’s death. He was, however, in a serious condition. Paterno’s family quickly denied the report, but not before it was tweeted or reported by a slew of other media outlets. Managing editor Mark Swanson said CBS Sports had relied on “an unsubstantiated report” and failed to verify it. CBS said it had based its report on a Penn State student website, Onward State. The managing editor of the student site resigned Saturday night, saying he never expected its reporting to be picked up by the national media. Paterno, the winningest coach in college football, was fired last year in the fallout from the Penn State child molestation scandal. He was accused of telling his superiors, but not police, when he learned that assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of raping a boy. Sandusky has pleaded not guilty to sexual abuse charges. Paterno has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
