Why can't the press get there facts straight?

[shortstripper]

Sorry, not directly aviation related, but it shows that it's not just air crashes that are badly reported!

At the weekend, a worker here on the farm lost his two youngest daughters in a horrific car crash along with their mothers partner. This comes a year or so after a messy break up with his former wife and a struggle to retain contact with his girls. Yesterday a couple of the tabloids reported that two daughters and their father were killed! Today, the papers have named them and mentioned everybody, except ... but not a word about the girls grieving real father. I know he's taking their deaths badly as you can imagine, I just hope he's not reading the papers. Talk about rubbing the salt in!

Surely these are basic facts that don't take much checking? Why assume if names haven't been released? Newspapers? Gossip rags more like! :mad:

SS

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Why can't the press get there facts straight?

Er, see how easy it is?

[shortstripper]

Yes well ... It was late, I was angry and you're a smartar$$e! :\ Sorry!

SS

[Final 3 Greens]

Shortstripper

I can understand why you are furious and the father must be distraught - let's hope that he has not seen the article.

A very well respected journalist who I knew (Wall St Journal) once told me that when you speak to witnesses of an accident that it was common to receive conflicting statements.

Therefore rigorous journalism involves trying to piece together what happened and being very careful to realize that "facts" are often not facts, but someone's opinion.

Did the article state the information source, e.g the police/ambulance service or onlookers?

If it was the former, I think that the journalist deserves some slack, since one would expect the official info to be correct, but if the latter, it would be reasonable to ask what efforts were made to corroborate the story.

[Droopystop]

First of all commiserations to the father.

It never ceases to amaze me how often the press get even good news wrong. Time and time again I have seen articles that I have had an inside track on and wondered if it was the same event. Then you realise the whole paper is full of the same stuff, not to mention the tv and radio. I never read a news paper or watch the news without questioning what the other side of the story is.

[shortstripper]

Yes I suppose you're right and in a way I guess we're all to blame. We're in such a hurry these days to get the news "as it happens" that fact and accuracy inevitably get side tracked to some extent in the rush.

It was probably an inappropriate post, but I needed to get it off my chest when I wrote it last night. Sorry, but I'd just had my wife in tears; the girls involved used to ride our pony and you suddenly realise how such tragedies touch so many lives. I've seen so any reports, especially relating to aviation that are sloppily reported, that to think the same thing happens again and again just leaves me cold.

SS

[Maxflyer]

Gertrude, that was unnecessary. This is a tragedy and the thread is about a grieving father, is this a valid target for a PPRuNe pedant?

[Pierre Argh]

Maybe they were just living up to their screen name (as they say in the West Country) "Gert Rude"?

[MikeJeff]

And this has what to do with Private Flying??

Can I sugges a move to "Jet Blast"?

[BRL]

I thought about moving it to JetBlast but decided not to.

shortstripper is a popular and well valued contributor to this forum and looking back through his posts he doesn't post in JetBlast.

There are quite a few who just post here and don't bother with other forums on the site.

Another reason for the stay is there is a bit of a 'community' feel to the forum that has steadily been growing for some time now and if someone posts something like this then it adds to the overall 'feel' to forum, the regular posters here get to have a say on it and it is often not a bad thing to allow this kind of thing to see what the others here think now and again.

Lots of posters here do not visit other forums so the odd post like this will be allowed to stay as far as I am concerned. As long as there are not too many threads like this, I.E. once in a blue moon then I am more then happy to allow it to stay.

I have had no complaints yet about this and the private flyers here usually let their feelings well known to me if something is amiss that they don't like and no-one has complained yet.

If it develops more into a 'get Gertrude' war of words then I will move it to JB and let it go in there but untill then it will stay in here purely for the reasons stated above. :)

[shortstripper]

Thanks BRL,

I had thought of deleting it myself but then decided not too. I too believe there is a little more to this forum than just pure aviation talk and prefer to think of it as a nice Pub situated at everyone’s favourite airfield. It's full of like minded aviation enthusiasts who like to talk mostly (but not exclusively) about flying. There was an aviation link here, as I have lost three friends over the years in flying accidents. However, this latest tragedy, whilst not actually flying related, does bear all the same hallmarks. It has been far more traumatic because children were involved and not pilots doing what they loved doing, but the misreporting was a common thread!

I didn't find Gertrude’s post at all offensive, but did think it was taking the pedantic biscuit! lol There and their is one of my pet hates, the same as nite and night, so I kind of sympathise. I hope he took my answer in good faith, as it too was meant tongue in cheek.

Sad things happen, we all know that. Sometimes we need to talk about them to get our heads around how to cope. I'm only on the fringe of this one; I knew the girls ... but not well. My wife was teaching them to ride so knew them better. I have daughters of similar ages, doing similar things, and these two girls’ sudden deaths have affected us all here very deeply. Perhaps this wasn't the best place to post, but where is? As a farm manager working and living on a farm, surrounded by others likewise affected by such a sad event, it is difficult speak about what has happened. Anyway ... I'm babbling on now so I'll stop.

SS

[J.A.F.O.]

SS

Thanks for posting it.

If it helps people to know that the thoughts of others are with them then that's justification enough for your posting your feelings on your forum. I also liked your analogy of our favourite pub on an airfield. My condolences to all of those touched by this sad event.

Try not to worry too much about the incompetent hacks whose work will be lining the budgie cage tomorrow whilst the lives of those girls will continue to touch all of you for many years.

All the best to all of you.

JAFO

[Ultralights]

The press dont care for facts! just the sale of papers/magazines/advertising on air etc etc.

[Complex_Type]

I never believe a single word in the press, not a single word of it, they have cried wolf time and again. The only reason I have bought a newspaper in the last 10 years was to get a cheap film DVD. Then I took the DVD out and dumped the paper in the bin outside the shop.

So, not only are they getting this story wrong, but it's also none of their business. What kind of a job is it feeding off tragedies? That kind of work has got to be right down there at the bottom of the low life world.

[Fuji Abound]

In a recent air crash a pilot I knew was killed.

The press published the story the next day, before relatives were told. They admitted they made no attempt to ensure the relatives had been informed, although they certainly were when they had read the paper.

So very sad.

(Well said BRL)

[wombat13]

Shortstripper, a number of years back my kid brother was attacked and murdered in a bar.

The local press got it spot on. The regionals were sloppy. The nationals were truly shocking in their ineptitude and sensationalising what was a terrible event.

Bad news sells and titilates. The closer you are to where it happened the more local people actually know what happened and the more accountable the local journo has to be when they bump into me in the street. The further away the less people know and care about exactly what happened. It is simply another story to gossip about.

Jurno's have deadlines and requirements for column inches. Accuracy and truth comes behind both of those.

The Wombat

[IO540]

I was once on the receiving end of a cr@ppy local newspaper report on a motoring offence.

I would have absolutely loved to sue the paper, but it being a magistrates' court there was no transcript.

Local newspaper reporters are generally the lowest of the low in terms of competence. That's where they start, and those with the slightest brains quickly move up the ladder.