Back in February, local internet message board OKC Talk learned via sources that a Trader Joe's would "be opening in the old Crescent Market space at Nichols Hills Plaza." Kind of like a young married couple announcing on Facebook they're having a baby, some of the finer details (like when the store would open, how big it would be, and how much cookie butter would cost) were still not known, but who really cared. We were getting a Trader Joe's! We've wanted one forever! We could find out all the other details when the lease is signed, which to take my analogy further, is kind of like the ultrasound of real estate deals.
Well, apparently The Oklahoman cared. Showing a sudden interest in journalistic standards, they didn't cover the Trader Joe's news. Instead, they got defensive and tried to dismiss the reports as "Unconfirmed" or "Rumors." I guess you can't blame them. If I edited the business section of a large newspaper and just watched my reporters get scooped by an Internet message board, I'd be defensive, too.