I have worked many times with serious journalists who research matters and
don't get things wrong. The BBC have a policy where all facts have to go via at
least two (maybe three) independent people before being used. They also have a
policy on articles being read and queried prior to publication, by anyone
quoted within. Where I have worked with good journalists, such as alongside WWF
on Montara last year, they are very careful to report the facts and not to
sensationalise. I have to say, such journalists tend to be in the minority and
many seem to be employed by The Australian. But for the time being, we live in
a world of quantity, not quality. To change things, we have to stop reading the
drivel.
All the best,
Simon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Simon Mustoe
Tel: +61 (0) 405220830 | Skype simonmustoe | Email
Visit BIRD-O at http://www.bird-o.com
Follow BIRD-O on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/birdodotcom
Like BIRD-O on Facebook? Visit
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Bird-O/117732794921095
Email BIRD-O at
> Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 13:34:11 +1000
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] New Bird for Australia
> From:
> To: ;
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm sure many of us have had our own experiences with the media getting
> things wrong, but I guess I'd like to chip in a small defense of
> journalists, who are often asked to cover stories about issues they know
> nothing about and expected to be instant experts. It is also important to
> note that what a journo sends to their editor often only ends up bearing a
> passing resemblance to what is actually printed, so many of the mistakes
> that creep into articles may actually occur in post-production through the
> hands of someone who didn't even create the source material.
>
> Having said that there are few things more frustrating than being misquoted
> or having a small but important fact or detail mangled in an article when
> some basic fact-checking by the author could have prevented the error.
>
> Regards,
> Chris
>
> On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 1:20 PM, Jill Dening <> wrote:
>
> > Alan,
> >
> > I've been interviewed on many occasions by the local Sunshine Coast media
> > about local shorebird matters, and on every occasion but one they have got
> > vital things wrong. And I always take the trouble to explain the difficult
> > details. I'd say on that basis that there'd have to be something out of
> > kilter with a very large number of stories in the general media. I
> > especially wonder about this when I am reading the business news, because it
> > takes a bit of time and intellect to get your head around economic and
> > business news.
> >
> > I used to wonder if my colleagues reading the stories quoting me thought I
> > really said what is reported. Now I couldn't give a toss: nothing to be done
> > about it.
> >
> > Jill Dening
> > Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
> >
> > 26° 51' 41"S 152° 56' 00"E
> >
> >
> > On 8/11/2010 12:27 PM, Alan McBride wrote:
> >
> >> Absolutely agree Keith. Knowing how they cock this sector up makes you
> >> wonder about the rest of the "news"!
> >>
> >> A
> >> On 08/11/2010, at 13:25 , Keith Brandwood wrote:
> >>
> >> They are mostly stupid in my opinion Alan, but by far it is that they are
> >> ignorant of the facts and can not make the effort to find out. Obviously
> >> they don't realize that there are a whole population of birdwatchers out
> >> there reading their stories and thinking "what idiots" otherwise they would
> >> get it right.
|
