How CBS’ John Miller Stood Out During Boston Bombing Coverage

By Alex Weprin 

While much has been made of the mistakes that were reported during the aftermath of the Boston bombings, the general consensus among media watchers has been that two journalists stood out for their accuracy and informative reports: NBC’s Pete Williams and CBS’ John Miller.

Miller gets a lengthy profile from the AP on how he got so much right. The short version: experience working for law enforcement agencies, and exceptional sources.

“Sources are people you meet on other stories and you develop them into sources of information,” he said. “I’m calling friends, and I’m asking them, ‘What’s happening here?

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For his part, Miller said, “I am reluctant to criticize authorities.”

“My interpretation of when they need to be (criticized) and somebody else’s might be different,” he said. “If you’ve been there and you know how that works and what it’s like, and how easy it is to take potshots from the outside, your criticism is more measured, your analysis of what is worthy of criticism and what isn’t is slightly different.”

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