LAWRENCE — For the second time in a week, the Kansas football program became entangled in the explosive echo chamber of social media.

Last week, it involved a tweet from KU coach Charlie Weis about the coverage in the KU student newspaper, The University Daily Kansan. On Wednesday, KU football spider-webbed around the blog world after The Kansan reported that a Kansas athletics official cautioned a student reporter about asking questions during Weis’ weekly press conference on Tuesday.

KU athletics officials contended the notice was given as a professional courtesy; others, including staff at the paper, saw the meeting as a form of intimidation.

The story was soon pinging around the internet, blog world and talk radio circles — provoking conversations about media censorship and providing another example of how local stories can snowball into national buzz in the opinion-infused realm of social media.

By late Wednesday afternoon, it appeared both sides were ready to move on. KU athletics officials stood by their initial explanation. The Jayhawks took the practice field on Wednesday afternoon with student media present. And Weis offered a quick joke to a collection of reporters. It probably would have even fit neatly into 140 characters.