Reporting from dictatorships

The lack of reliable sources of information in a country with oppressive regimes can slow down the job of a foreign reporter and, like in the case with recent shootings at the capital of Turkmenistan, cause some confusion due to the rush to report on the "news" first.

Well, reporting on rumors has never been a right choice for a serious journalist. But listening to rumors in, say, Turkmenistan and investigating those  can be a productive start toward a breaking story. The Columbia Journalism Review has a story on that.
RFE/RL also offers the latest updates on the incident.