12 Uses of Social and New Media Throughout History That Would've Outraged Flyers Beat Writers

Yesterday, several Flyers beat writers exhibited self-righteous indignation – on Twitter – over the team’s decision to use Instagram to announce that Steve Mason would be the Opening Night goaltender. Rob Parent of the Delco Times called it: #digitalworst. And I’m told that the legitimate anger went well beyond social media and dominated press box discussion yesterday.

So it got us thinking: If the insignificant act of naming a starting goaltender using social media got hockey beat writers all bent out of shape and defensive of the the Big J (that’s Journalism, kiddies), what other major announcements and historical events might have really rankled their feathers had new media or unconventional means been used to relay the message?

Well, let’s just be glad that the Messrs. Isaac and Parent were around for:

[you can click photos to enlarge them]

The Nixon Interviews

Simba’s Birth

Paul Revere’s warning

The Renaissance

Walter White’s cancer

The first American flag

Revolutionizing the phone

Andrew Bynum’s introductory press conference

A New World

The 10 Commandments

The collapse of the Soviet Union

And finally, Beatlemania

Credit fashion editor Dan Fuller with an assist on some of these and reader Andy for seeding the idea