Tuesday, October 04, 2011

The Amanda Knox case is another blow to the press...

News that Amanda Knox had been found guilty sent publishers into a spin. Nowadays we all want to be FIRST!!!!!, the irritating commenter who leaves their response first under a story, and first is everything, whether it's completely right or not. It was only a few minutes later, when those who had been patient enough to listen to the Italian translation of the whole verdict, realised that Knox was only guilty of libel, and not of murder.

It's embarrassing for the Mail Online, and others, who in their rush to publish, got it so badly wrong. It's understandable that a paper would have two versions of a story ready to go; and that legal teams and all other parties would provide quotes to the media based on both eventualities ahead of any decision. What isn't understandable is the making up of details: "She sank into her chair sobbing uncontrollably", according to the Mail, but that never happened, because she wasn't found guilty.

In the rush to be first, sometimes something - anything - will do, and quality can suffer as a result. This sort of thing has always happened in newspapers since the presses began to roll - remember the photo of a grinning Harry Truman holding up a front page saying he had been defeated in the presidential election - and many are the times when papers will have a couple of versions of a story ready to go when they know what the outcome is. Full story...

Don't miss:
  1. The Daily Mail Song!!!
  2. Tamil hunger striker accused of eating burgers sues newspapers...
  3. The depressing tale of Johann Hari...
  4. How Rupert Murdoch ran Britain... 
  5. The Colbert Report on the "Islamic" attack on Norway...
  6. World's media tricked by fake bin Laden photo...
  7. Did the BBC lie about the mass grave and the 1,200 bodies found in Libya?
  8. BBC shows Anna Hazare protest in India as Tripoli Green Square!!! WTF!

No comments:

Post a Comment