We occasionally take for granted the source of news in this business, believing some to be above reporting rumors, speculation, and falsities. NBC, though likely guilty of reporting false facts before, is one such organization you might trust more than others. Such was the case yesterday when, in the hours leading up to baseball’s Mitchell Report, set for public scrutiny at 2pm EST, news sources jockeyed to release “leaked” information which amounted to nothing more than hot air. WNBC in New York reported the news as fact, citing “two separate sources.”

Three particular names stood out in the early hours for the sheer weight they have in the game: St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, Boston Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek, and former Boston Red Sox shortstop and current Los Angeles Dodger Nomar Garciaparra. None of the three appeared in the actual Mitchell Report. In fact, as The Smoking Gun reports, six of the names on WNBC’s initial list were not in the actual report.

We wrote yesterday that the term “Mitchell Report” (and several iterations like “Mitchell List,” etc) had quickly jumped to the top of Google’s Hot Trends list, published daily to show what the world is searching. The speed at which information travels never fails to impress, and within minutes of the 2pm EST deadline, anyone interested in reading the 409-pages of steroid research could do so from anywhere in the world.

It’s a scenario that has created enormous competition among news sources, and shorter windows with which to beat foes to the punch, so to speak. With high website traffic numbers the goal, bringing those eyes to your news is as much about speed as it is content. And occasionally the result is a scenario like yesterday’s, where a credible news source like WNBC is reduced to the same kind of reporting as blogs and social networks. It is an interesting and chaotic time for the news business.

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