Some of my long-time readers might recall some eighteen months ago, when I broke the story (Will Convergys Close Kamloops Call Centre?) of comments from Convergys President and CEO David Dougherty that the company planned to move some of its Canadian operations to Asia, and questioned whether this would impact the Kamloops operations.
That post generated a lot of attention both in terms of traffic to this web site, and within the local media. The latter I found rather curious, given that I hadn't actually added any value other than to discover information that was already freely available in the company's public record.
Anyways, an anonymous comment left on a follow-up post, Convergys Relocation Statements Cause Anxiety Across Canada, stated that the Kamloops location would in fact shut down, and that Convergys would evacuate the country completely by the end of 2008:
I cant say who I am or what I know but Convergys Canada will be completely gone by December 2008. Kamloops and Ottawa will be closed 100% by September 2008, and the rest will follow in the coming months.
In subsequent posts (Ethics, Anon!) I troubled a bit over whether or one should publish anonymous comments, and invited the author of that comment to contact me off the record. Then, after speaking with Convergys' Vice President of Business Development for Canada, Igor Sarenac, who unequivocally refuted any intentions to shut down Kamloops operations, I ultimately I chose not to share the comment, either with my readers or with interested local journalists. Given recent events however, the point is now moot.
Yesterday, news broke that the Kamloops Call Centre would in fact close (Dave Eagles, I am again in awe of your nuanced photojournalism).
So, I'm looking for input... did I miss the boat, or did I get it right by not publishing the comment? It's very possible that the commenter was spot-on, but that shifting economic realities (like a Canadian dollar that plunged during the recent financial crisis) kept this call centre open when it otherwise would have closed back in December. Should a blogger care whether or not interesting information comes from a single, anonymous source?
Obviously there is value in verification, but I personlly engage greater skepticism when reading blogs by amateurs than when reading professional online media, and expect others to do the same. Does that render absent the need for any even a passing wave at journalistic practices? Believe me, bloggers like me typically struggle to simply post on a regular basis, let alone verify (or even consider following) reader-submitted leads.
I'm listening...
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