Our Sources
I think we can start by all agreeing that DrinkingTicket is a very unique account. We work hard at DrinkingTicket to provide breaking news and information to the students of the University of South Carolina and the residents of the City of Columbia. Often times when we tweet out information we will get scrutiny about our sources so we want to clear the air.
DrinkingTicket relies on OUR FOLLOWERS for information as well as confidential sources within our University, City, and State Government. When our followers send in information to us we investigate the information through various means and do the best we can to validate the information. We pull data from law enforcement chatter, social networks, public records, and various other media networks throughout the city.
The amazing thing about DrinkingTicket is the vast amount of information people are willing to share with us for the greater good. A lot of our information comes in the form of anonymous tips/direct communications from high ranking government and law enforcement officials that would normally not be able to share this information for fear of losing their jobs or being reprimanded. This is why we never cite our source, but rest assured the source does exist. We have worked for over 5 years to build the trust of USC Students and Columbia Residents and we would not just throw away that trust tweeting bogus information.
The reason we publish/get information FIRST, often times long before Carolina Alert or the news media, is because we get the information straight from the sources involved.
When someone gets in an accident often times one of the motorists involved will tweet at us about it. When there is a fire behind Granby a resident will tweet a picture at us. When there is a shooting on campus people in the room NEXT DOOR will message us about it. When there are robberies on campus the people robbed reach out to us. When someone goes missing it’s someone’s mom reaching out to us. When school is closed someone making that decision will let us know. We are a twitter account fueled by the knowledge and first hand experiences of people just like you.
Most news stations along with Carolina Alert usually have to wait for an “Official Press Statement” or “Incident Report” we do not. Once we investigate something and deem it to be credible we send it out. Many major news sources actually use our tweets to discover the news they end up reporting.
We try our best to always publish accurate information and have a pretty good track record of doing so over the years. Though we are not perfect, we ALWAYS will issue a correction if we determine the information we sent out was inaccurate/invalid. Remember that at the end of the day we are just a twitter account. If you do not agree with the information we send out by no means are we forcing you to follow us or listen to our account.
To our 78,200+ loyal followers. Thanks for all your support and remember; whenever you see something interesting going on in Columbia snap a picture and tweet it at us, send us a DM on twitter, or fill out a tip sheet anonymously on our website. DrinkingTicket is only as useful as the information we receive so keep the great tips, pictures, and information coming and thank you all for your support.
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