There was a sizable disconnect between what the media was reporting about Hurricane Irene and what the official national hurricane center forecast was (who all along predicted the storm would weaken). Did the weather channel the worse offender lose any credibility? Will people believe what they hear from them the next time? Will they go someplace else to get better information?

In this era of building community around communications, trust is paramount.  Are we compromising it in the quest to grab readers, viewers, likes, shares and retweets?  I’ve seen one too many headlines that overpromise and underdeliver. There’s got to be a better balance between reality and creativity so that we do what we are supposed to as professional communicators.