News Media and Social Media Become Part of a Real-Time Manhunt Drama

The all-consuming search in Massachusetts for the suspects in Boston Marathon bombings gripped the nation with some of the most startling, and at times unnerving, news coverage in years.

In the middle of it all were reporters, camera crews and ordinary citizens with cellphone cameras who were suddenly entwined with the story. When the second suspect was surrounded on April 19, some reporters were so close to the scene that they could count the number of gunshots and flash bang sounds. The close interaction of reporters with the unfolding events underscored the complex relationship the news media have had with law enforcement authorities this week. News organizations have been both scolded for irresponsible reporting and employed to relay information to the public, sometimes at the same news conference. Earlier on April 19, the authorities thanked news media outlets for spreading the word that Bostonians should take shelter — and cautioned them against repeating secondhand or thinly sourced information.