Having just had a valued piece of input, I'd like to formally share a site that came my way today, called newscounter. Sadly, at least for my RSI and blogging addiction, I fear they will be added to my daily must read... and contribute to.... list.
For instance: How sorry does a newspaper have to be? Which deals with the woeful disconnect between a front page porky and the back page retraction.
I shake my head when I read such as this, and the state of what once could have been deemed a worthy 4th estate.
However, I also try and suppress laughing out loud trying to reconcile the all too true words in your last para with the fact we are talking about... the Mail. As papers go, they really don't get much sorrier than that.
But, as we are running a gamut of emotions here, how sad is it to feel that way, especially when you look at their readership? Sure you wouldn't want your son to admit he dated one, but they are raking it in based on a lot still listening to them.
Guardian - No vinegar for Woolmer - interesting, especially in light of a previous discussion on the Newsnight blog about how only traditional media can be trusted. I am not saying blogs are any better, but they sure as heck are no worse these days, sadly.
Junkk.com promotes fun, reward-based e-practices, sharing oodles of info in objective, balanced ways. But we do have personal opinions, too! Hence this slightly ‘off of site, top of mind' blog by Junkk Male Peter. Hopefully still more ‘concerned mates’ than 'do this... or else' nannies, with critiques seen as constructive or of a more eyebrow-twitching ‘Oh, really?!' variety. Little that’s green can be viewed only in black and white.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
3 comments:
I believe in freedom of speech. But I also don't like bullies on blogs, even verbal ones, as they can drive away those with something valid to say... or offer.
Subjective is fine, but well argued and substantiated is even better. Calm and polite tops. Anything that crosses my personal line will not go up. There may be reasons given, but not guaranteed.
I'm not too keen on 'Anon' as a handle (and the content usually explains why), so if that's what you opt for it may not make it. Sorry.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Mail, when it comes to apologising for whatever wrongs it has committed, is any different from any other member of the UK press club. It seems to be standard practice for any admission of wrong/false reporting to be hidden away in the depths of any newspaper where it can hardly be spotted.
It almost seems to be a case of making a formal apology as hidden as possible in order to minimise any potential damage that may be caused. Its the equivalent of the gritted teeth 'sorry' muttered by an irate teenager - actually said, but hardly meant at all.
There's an interesting apology in the Daily Express today to a Muslim man who they suggested had links with terror groups. This article does, at least, have a headline 'an apology'.
ReplyDeleteWas it ever thus?
ReplyDeleteA long time ago I lived and worked across the States. And even then, I noted how much more the mainstream press seemed to have journalistic standards way in excess of our own (National Enquirer, perhaps, excepted).
I even recall a local paper's banner, which read 'Hew close to the line. And let the chips fall where they may'.
There seemed to be real pride in the craft, and every aspect of the journalistic and editorial process was taken very seriously.
But maybe I'm guilty of looking into a rose-tinted rear-view mirror.
Mistakes are an inevitable part of life, and if they are genuine, with sincere efforts to put them right, I think that's acceptable (in fact I blogged on this to a question posed years ago in Materials Recycling Week, sadly before the tags enabled an archive search. I must try and locate what I wrote).
But these days, all too often I feel it's a case of ‘throw some mud and see if it sticks’. There's a story anyway so you get an immediate result. If there's something to it even better, and even if there is not the hoo-ha can be fruitful. Meanwhile the most 'pain' not to do this is to tuck an apology away somewhere. Not the greatest incentive to be more professional next time.