Fact Checking Is Important, People!

alantig

alantig

Zombie Four, DFZ
Joined
Apr 28, 2012
Messages
15,411
REAL fact checking, not just paying it lip service.

This is KTVU is San Francisco covering the Asiana plane crash. It has since been reported that a summer intern at the NTSB "confirmed" these names, but a) who's taking confirmation from an intern; and b) how do you not hear these names and not realize it's a prank? I used to feel a bit bad for news organizations when stuff like this slipped through, or especially the Howard Stern listeners prank calling (I actually caught one live the night Princess Diana died), but they're more worried about being first than being correct, so they get what they deserve.

 
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HAhahaha! How did she get past saying Ho Lee *** without knowing she'd been had?! Damn, I'm so glad I'm alive sometimes.
 
Yes, Yes, it did. CNN and the San Francisco Examiner are carrying the story. No one knows who the source of the names was, but the intern confirmed the names. I guess the news staff were all absent on the day they taught common sense in school.
 
TV NEWS PRANKSTER IDENTIFIED

CNN, San Francisco. The name of the TV news prankster who listed the pilots of the Asian Air tragedy as Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee *** and Bang Ding Ow for broadcast, has been released by the FAA. The young intern has been identified as Hugh G. Rection, a member of the I Felta Thi fraternity at nearby I.P. Daly College. It is not known whether charges will be filed.
 
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LSchefman said:
TV NEWS PRANKSTER IDENTIFIED

CNN, San Francisco. The name of the TV news prankster who listed the pilots of the Asian Air tragedy as Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee *** and Bang Ding Ow for broadcast, has been released by the FAA. The young intern has been identified as Hugh G. Rection, a member of the I Felta Thi fraternity at nearby I.P. Daly College. It is not known whether charges will be filed.
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:rofl:
 
We live in a world where Twitter is thought of as a news source and half of all "news" shows are just two people arguing. Why not expect pranks such as this to happen.
 
It is a pretty damning commentary on the competency required to be a newscaster (i.e., none).
 
I've always suspected that newscasters mindlessly read whatever's in front of them with no comprehension. There's one on a Dayton, OH station who routinely refers to the "Ohio Center Mall", as if it's a center mall (what's a center mall?), rather than accenting it as "Ohio Center Mall". A subtle difference, but a stressed syllable in the wrong place can change the entire meaning of a sentence. But you'd think anyone with half a brain would catch the tacky attempt at humor in their script and do a little self-editing--but I guess they're not paid to think...
 
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In that woman's defense, she probably didn't have time to review the information before she was shown the teleprompter on live TV. Instead of stopping on live TV and asking "Is this a joke", she rolled with it and read what she was given. She was screwed either way. The bigger issue, as I see it, is how all of these news channels are so eager to "break" the news, that they are willing to repeat unconfirmed info.
 
sergiodeblanc said:
HAhahaha! How did she get past saying Ho Lee *** without knowing she'd been had?! Damn, I'm so glad I'm alive sometimes.
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People, people... ...they were Korean, right? And Lee is only the most popular last name in Korea, as in 60% of all Koreans, right? (OK, so I exaggerate... ...a little bit) And they put the family name first.

So: it would have to be Lee Ho ***.

Can't believe nobody caught that. ;)
 
kingsleyd said:
People, people... ...they were Korean, right? And Lee is only the most popular last name in Korea, as in 60% of all Koreans, right? (OK, so I exaggerate... ...a little bit) And they put the family name first.

So: it would have to be Lee Ho ***.

Can't believe nobody caught that. ;)
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Isn't that where you can get a big dish of beef chow mein?

I wouldn't expect the on-air "talent" to catch this - the Ron Burgundy thing was meant to be a joke, but I suspect it's far more reality than it should be. You can hear newsreaders stumble over lines that they've clearly not seen or read beforehand. What I would expect is the people putting together and reviewing the scripts to see this and say come on.

That said, people are very trusting. When I first got engaged, I was living in Virginia, and I went to the local paper to put in an announcement. Since I really didn't know anyone except a few co-workers, and my wife wasn't living down there, I decided to see how much I could get away with. Turns out it was a lot. I think the only accurate think about my wife was her name. The closest I came to blowing it was when I said she graduation from the University of Burma (Burma? I panicked.). The woman laughed and said, "Burma?" I said, "I have no idea why..." They ran everything the way I said it.
 
alantig said:
Isn't that where you can get a big dish of beef chow mein?

I wouldn't expect the on-air "talent" to catch this - the Ron Burgundy thing was meant to be a joke, but I suspect it's far more reality than it should be. You can hear newsreaders stumble over lines that they've clearly not seen or read beforehand. What I would expect is the people putting together and reviewing the scripts to see this and say come on.

That said, people are very trusting. When I first got engaged, I was living in Virginia, and I went to the local paper to put in an announcement. Since I really didn't know anyone except a few co-workers, and my wife wasn't living down there, I decided to see how much I could get away with. Turns out it was a lot. I think the only accurate think about my wife was her name. The closest I came to blowing it was when I said she graduation from the University of Burma (Burma? I panicked.). The woman laughed and said, "Burma?" I said, "I have no idea why..." They ran everything the way I said it.
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For an added touch, you should have said she was the granddaughter of Rudyard Kipling.

PS - Kingsley, his hair was perfect
 
I just read that the airline is suing the TV station for discrediting the airlines reputation with that report. Yah it was the news report that is damaging your reputation not the CRASH right? haha
 
]-[ @ n $ 0 |v| a T ! ©;86618 said:
And people get their "facts" from Wikipedia.
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I'm always on Wikipedia. It's easily one of my favorite things ever.

How else am I gonna learn about true Beliebing???
 
It can be a good starting point but it sure isn't the authority on anything.

A friend recently sent me a link to Wiki to reinforce a "fact" he was trying to support. I edited the Wiki page and sent it back to him (which is my point).

Popular opinion and facts aren't the same thing. Popular opinion (like Wiki pages) can be changed, facts cannot.
 
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