Bad Reporting

[Fazor]

And now, in addition to the elephants, I'm trying to remember if I've seen a blue whale skeleton. I could swear I have in some museum or aquarium back home, but I'm not sure. So thanks for giving me something else to keep my subconscious busy today.

Ha, no prob! I was already thinking the same thing. It feels like I've seen one in person, but I think I've just seen so many hanging from museum ceilings on tv that it's a false memory.

[Hornblower]

There is a full sized model of a blue whale at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

The biggest blue whale on record was around 100 feet long and weighed an estimated 200 tons. That means a fully loaded A380 is over twice the length and three times the weight. The An225 is somewhat larger yet.

The two adult female Asian elephants at the National Zoo are about 4 tons each. African bull elephants are typically 6 to 8 tons, with the biggest on record estimated at 12 tons. That elephant is stuffed and mounted in the rotunda of the Museum of Natural History.

Sources: Wiki, Guinness Book of World Records

[jrkeller]

Texas hoax had the media digging their own grave

The openning describes it all.

A massacre in Texas? Dismemberment? Psychics? It captured the popular imagination – but what happened to checking facts?

[Jim]

Texas hoax had the media digging their own grave

The openning describes it all.

[cough] http://www.bautforum.com/showthread....95#post1899395 [cough]

[NEOWatcher]

Channel 4 Action News Reporter Rescues Cat From Tree
cat stuck 40 feet in a tree.
Fire department says they can't help because they can't get trucks to the tree, but the cat will come down when it gets hungry.
8 days later...Reporter borrows a 20 foot ladder and coaxes the cat down to his level.

Now; here's my issue.
Why not interview the fire department why they couldn't rescue the cat if it only took a 20 foot ladder?
Why did it take 8 days for someone to think of going up a ladder? (although; I can partially understand that they were waiting for the cat to come down)
Under what premise was the news called rather than someone else(like a vet to get advice)? Human interest? Complaining about the FD?

Sounds to me more like self-promotion rather than trying to get a story.

[Fazor]

I get so tired of the "human interest" sob stories that are just fabricating an injustice, hoping that the reader will get up in arms because we're told we should be.
Kid's Lemonade Stand Fined $500 By County
The big, bad Man came and fined a couple of kids for running a lil 'ol lemonade stand? Outrageous!

. . . oh, wait. The family was warned multiple times that the stand was in violation of County rules because they were operating without a permit, but they continued to run the large lemonade stand anyway because they just felt the should be able to. And now that they have to face the official consequences, it's unfair? The article mentions that their operation was much larger than the standard "kid with a pitcher of lemonade", which are also technically illegal but they don't usually bother with them. But the parents think it should be okay because the money is for charity.

Why do people think they can decide what the exceptions to laws are? The funniest part to me is that they throw in the fact that the area is near where the US Open is held, and that people in the area make large amounts of money by using their homes and land to charge people for parking (they apparently make thousands of dollars.) But the article states that they have to buy a $300 permit in order to do so legally.

So their argument is "It's unfair that everyone can make so much money selling parking after buying a permit like they're required to, but we're not even allowed to make money selling lemonade after failing to obtain the appropriate permit!" and "We don't think this rule is a good one, so we should be able to ignore it without consequence!"

Color me annoyed.

[NEOWatcher]

Yeah, that one really got under my skin too.
This isn't some kids stirring up a pitcher of lemonade in thier front yard while mommy watches frome a window. And it wasn't some know charitable organization selling cookies at an event.

Now; I'm all for giving children and charities a little slack, but I thought this was way past the line.
This was adults running a beverage stand for profit using thier children as a front. It wasn't "thier" lemonade, it was resale of a commercially bottled product.

Here's a few more details that the link you provided doesnt mention:
Kids' lemonade stand slapped with fine (msnbc video)

Only half the profit was going to charity.
The stand was on the grounds of the US open, not on private property (like thier permit carrying parking neighbors).

And; if the kids don't understand, then maybe this was a good opportunity for the parents to teach them why they need to do a little due diligence before embarking on a project like this.

[Fazor]

And; if the kids don't understand, then maybe this was a good opportunity for the parents to teach them why they need to do a little due diligence before embarking on a project like this.

What bothers me isn't that they didn't do their research -- though they should have. I can forgive the, "We didn't think it would be a problem!" in a situation like this. But they were given three friendly, no-cost, non forceful warnings to cease and desist, but they chose to ignore them. So maybe they should teach their kids that you can't just ignore an authority because you don't agree with them.

I'd be interested to know if any of these kids have ever been punished for not cleaning their rooms after being told to. Or for not eating their veggies. Etc.

[NEOWatcher]

We've had quite a bit of discussion in the past on the use of the word "accident" as it's being used in "accidental shooting", "traffic accident", etc.
It usually boils down to a matter of intention and pre-determination.

But; I can't find anywhere in this article anything that can even remotely be regarded as an accident.
Accidental alligator made VB pond home

Officials, say it's likely his owner dumped him off in the pond when he got too big.
"It is unfortunately common, these are illegal in the state of Virginia to have as pets," added Matthews.

[Gillianren]

"Whoops! Is that an alligator?"

[Fazor]

(Thousandth reply! What do I win?)

I can't help but picturing some sort of incident involving Wally Gator "accidentally" setting up home in the pond.

[swampyankee]

We've had quite a bit of discussion in the past on the use of the word "accident" as it's being used in "accidental shooting", "traffic accident", etc.
It usually boils down to a matter of intention and pre-determination.

But; I can't find anywhere in this article anything that can even remotely be regarded as an accident.
Accidental alligator made VB pond home

I do know that birders use "accidental" to refer to birds that appear to be in an area accidentally. Maybe that was the meaning? Of course, the alligator was probably a released exotic pet and about as accidental as an arson fire.

[NEOWatcher]

(Thousandth reply! What do I win?)

Interesting statement to put on the 1001st post.
(ETA: oh wait, you said reply, not post )

I do know that birders use "accidental" to refer to birds that appear to be in an area accidentally.

Doesn't that imply "on thier own"?

[swampyankee]

Doesn't that imply "on thier own"?

Or with the assistance of unusual winds.

[NEOWatcher]

Or with the assistance of unusual winds.

That works with birds. I doubt an alligator ended up in a pond by unusual winds.
(and by my perception of the word "pond", I also doubt it was water currents)

But; no natural conditions were mentioned as a possibility. Only man-made causes were mentioned.

[swampyankee]

That works with birds. I doubt an alligator ended up in a pond by unusual winds.
(and by my perception of the word "pond", I also doubt it was water currents)

But; no natural conditions were mentioned as a possibility. Only man-made causes were mentioned.

Like I said: about as accidental as an arson fire.

[NEOWatcher]

Here's another one-sided story.
Fan wants $1 million for Arizona Cardinals cheer?

Randy Boylan says he's trying to get $1 million from the Cardinals by creating their next team cheer, featuring his saxophone. He says it's supposed to sound like a bird call and would play every time the Cardinals score.

Fine; but has he even talked to the team? Did they interview the team to see if they have any comment?

Hey; I'm trying to get $1 million dollars from my own company by working hard. So far, it doesn't seem to be working.

[Fazor]

Why would they pay $1million for a cheer? They probably paid in the hundreds for whatever soundbyte they currently use. "Hey, if they pay the players big-time, they must pay *everyone* big time, right?!"

[Fazor]

Either bad reporting, or Cleveland's sports journalists have really lowered their standards.

Headline: M's Rookies Keep Indians from Sweep

Goes on to talk about big performances from the Mariners young players that gave them a big win in the second game of a double header, after Cleveland won the first off a walk-off HR in the 9th of the first game.

. . . so, yeah. The M's rookies helped them avoid the sweep. But not as much as the M's winning the first game of the series on Monday did. 'Cause, you know, you can't really get a "sweep" if you've already lost a game.

[DonM435]

Either bad reporting, or Cleveland's sports journalists have really lowered their standards.

Headline: M's Rookies Keep Indians from Sweep

Goes on to talk about big performances from the Mariners young players that gave them a big win in the second game of a double header, after Cleveland won the first off a walk-off HR in the 9th of the first game.

. . . so, yeah. The M's rookies helped them avoid the sweep. But not as much as the M's winning the first game of the series on Monday did. 'Cause, you know, you can't really get a "sweep" if you've already lost a game.

They used to talk of "sweeping" a double header, as opposed to losing it (a/k/a "getting swept") or "splitting" it.

I guess that double headers are so rare these days that not everyone remembers that terminology.

[NEOWatcher]

Senior Trapped In Her Home By City Tree

[She] can't open her front door after being trapped by a fallen city-owned tree. During Hurricane Irene, crashed down on her house and is now blocking the entrance of her home.
"God help me. I want to get in and out," said Mendez, precariously climbing up on garbage cans to crawl into a side window of her home to get in and out, extremely dangerous for a senior. " I told the City to take it down months ago. No one was listening," Mendez cried.

It might be a little unfair of me to state that she's not trapped if she was able to get in and out of her house. Afterall, she is in a rather delicate condition because of this tree, and the fact that it's sitting on her house.

But; watching the video. There was a quick little phrase... "we got her keys and access to the back door".
Backdoor? Wait a minute. Why couldn't she use her back door until the reporter got the keys?

Besides, with that huge tree laying on her house, isn't there some kind of damage? It would have been nice of them to mention that. And why did she call about that tree a month ago?
It's one thing tugging on the heart strings, but not to the point of ignoring the story.

[NEOWatcher]

THE SKY IS FALLING!
I went to a local news site to check the radar for the rain that just started here.

IN BIG "BREAKING NEWS" STYLE WAS "SEVERE WEATHER ALERT DAY DECLARED", along with a big picture of the radar image.

Is it any wonder people don't take warnings serious anymore?

Here's what they say about the alert.

We are calling a Severe Weather Alert Day to let you know that severe weather is possible. It isn't an official watch or warning from the National Weather Service, but a friendly heads up from us here at Channel 3 to help you plan and prepare.

If it isn't an official watch, then I see no reason to "alert" me. It's rain people.

[Gillianren]

We do have an official watch, and I'm not entirely sure why. "Okay, it's not as severe weather as we usually get in the winter, but we haven't had it in a while, and trees that were already weakened last winter could fall." Gee. Thanks.

[NEOWatcher]

I guess that people in Ohio are starting to get used to small earthquakes since now they need to add all sorts of loosely related stuff into an earthquake report.
Unusual earthquake hits northeast Ohio

Power of 5 meteorologist Mark Johnson said that it’s unusual for earthquakes to hit Youngstown, but another smaller quake hit the area last month.

Rare? according to this chart, it's the seventh one in that county this year.

This comes just after two quakes hit California Thursday.

And how often do quakes hit California?

Thursday's quakes come almost 22 years to the day after the Loma Prieta earthquake

Of course we have to try to find some loose connection to some historic disaster to report on,

[Fazor]

At least you didn't quote a line along the lines of, "Scientists say that this probably doesn't mean that a huge, world-ending quake is near, but some people aren't so sure. One man we spoke to at a bus stop said that all these eerie events might make him think about constructing an end-of-days shelter. We at the News Inc tend to believe him, since scientists sometimes get things wrong."

[Fazor]

Woah, nothing here since October? Well I'm dusting off the cobwebs!

I just visited our local paper's online site (Lancaster Eagle Gazette, for the record) and was greeted with the large red "BREAKING NEWS!" banner. Uh-oh. Another meth-lab bust? Missing child? Fatal accident?

No.

"Breaking News!: Ohio Jobless Rate Dips to 8.5% in November."

What? So, the "Breaking news" is a monthly statistic measuring something from last month? That's not "breaking" news. That's just news. Even if it's your "big story of the day" (I guess that's the lowest the jobless rate has been since 2006?) that still doesn't make it breaking news. Just headline news. Or "front page" news. Or your marquee news. Blah.

If the paper had any credibility with me to begin with, it would have just lost some.

[NEOWatcher]

I just visited our local paper's online site (Lancaster Eagle Gazette, for the record) and was greeted with the large red "BREAKING NEWS!" banner.

Oh; I gave up on the breaking news banner long ago. It has turned into "the latest story" no matter how lame.

And I think they realize that. We have a channel that has turned it into "ALERT:".
Right now: Alert: [some corrupt politician's] attempt at a trial delay was denied.

So; now what's goint to happen the next time there is an important message?

And on another local channel:
BREAKING NEWS: Watch [our] News at Noon, Live Video and Chat
Considering it's the 1:00pm hour right now, I think that "breaking" news is already obsolete.

[Fazor]

Well, then I guess I'm glad it's not just our inept publication. I'm extra hard on it, since I have a friend (really, a friend of a friend) who's an editor for them. So I'm sure it makes him feel good to see me always bi--complaining about--the paper.

[Gillianren]

Our local paper wouldn't hire me. They've told people I know that they don't hire anyone who worked on the school paper at my alma mater. Never mind that I was very good at what I did there (copy editor; are you shocked?) and that there have been several occasions where it's been obvious that they need one.

[danscope]

Sometimes having actual talent disqualifies you for some positions. Get em young, dumb and cheap is the hiring banner for some people. It's really too bad.