Redtop.
Bloody well put case (much as it pains me to say so to a journo). A lot of well put replies too.
As you can see, I hope, the general plan is to deal with FACTS in our business. To get the facts is 99.9% of the time is a time consuming search. One that is rarely able to dove-tail with the "now" news requirements in your trade.
Result = the USUAL factually wrong uneducated guesses spouted by your colleagues and never retracted when later proven to be utter hoop!
Hopefully not being prone to outright lies (the PRO) - when you ask if the facts you have are correct you may well get a "yes you were correct" (i.e. Eng in the cheap-seats). That is - you were correct in that fact - not your whole supposition. A point that normally totally elides your ilk.
Bottom line - it is usually better to tell the average journo nothing rather than have your words changed beyond recognition to be used as the basis of the sensational story the guy wanted all along. Humdrum don't sell newspapers!
