Great article about media running this news (that said the investigation is done, and here is a new DC) without a reliable source.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/285321
Jackson doctor 'to be charged', media didn't ask official sources
Jan.8, 2010
(Excerpts from the article - go to the link above to read it all)
Legal scuttlebutt in LA went around the world instantly about possible charges against Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray. Less impressive is the fact that 927 news articles were produced before someone checked facts about any actual prosecution.
The LA District Attorney's office was said to be waiting for police to hand over the case, although this has been the case for a while now, and confirmation from official sources was lacking. The "anonymous sources" element also helped making facts hard to pin down.
The difference between rumor and fact in this instance is that there is no case, and no basis for the massive gossip, until a prosecution is formally in process. The information so far is meaningless, until that happens. AP and Fox have taken a more balanced approach, stating only that the prosecution is under consideration, not that there's been a decision.
The information and news quality at this stage was highly debatable. Not one of these pieces had a word about any official statements. Actual information finally occurred when somebody got off their major anatomical assets and rang LA DA and asked what was happening.
ABC News, after running an earlier piece in the same vein, later reported that the LA DA hasn't decided to lay charges. Some sources are still publishing the rumor, hours after ABC's statement of the situation.