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| Not Minding Their Ps & Qs |
Well, we have heard word from the horse's ... mouth.
DScott, an intrepid NewsBusters participant, contacted AFP to point out their inanity. And in the wee small hours of Friday morning -- they wrote back.
DScott was generous enough to share it with us, and we now, in turn, share it with you:
Subject: D not R, yes, thanks
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:28:38 +0100
From: "Michel VIATTEAU" Add Mobile Alert
To: [Redacted - DScott's email address]Dear reader,
Thank you for your interest.
Accuracy is our absolute priority and we are grateful to you for pointing out the mistake on this photo caption. The error has been corrected on our service though you may still find a few instances of it on client Internet sites to which we have no immediate access.
Regards, David Williams, deputy editor
In practical terms, this means very little. The vast majority of any damage done -- the error was in place when the news was in fact still news -- has already occurred.
Besides which:
... you may still find a few instances of it on client Internet sites to which we have no immediate access.
A wire service correcting only their copy -- and not reaching out to at least the majors amongst their clients to do the same -- accomplishes very little.
Very few people rush to AFP.com to check days-old stories (I believe it is similar in phone-booth group size to that which watches MSNBC) who will then and there see the correction.
Their client list is undoubtedly large, and the prospect of contacting them all daunting. But to not contact a few huge clients -- like say Yahoo!, which is where where we found it -- shows you are perhaps less than completely serious about rectifying the situation.
Proving the ineffectiveness of their approach to restoring "absolute accuracy": Where we saw the error initially -- we see it still.
One wonders how they have handled, and would handle again, errors that harm Democrats rather than help them.
—Seton Motley is Director of Communications for the Media Research Center and Contributing Editor for NewsBusters.org.
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Comments Policy
It's France. Does anybody
March 14, 2008 - 10:22 ET by goldbarIt's France. Does anybody really care?
It's the internet...
March 14, 2008 - 10:50 ET by jpatchIt's the internet. Everyone cares.
Knowingly disseminating false information is the mission statement of liberal reporters everywhere.
Actually, yes, the
March 14, 2008 - 11:15 ET by dscottActually, yes, the perceptions of foreigners is an issue. The entire meme of the Dems message regarding the US standing in the world is that George W Bush (R) has disgraced the country in the eyes of the world, indentifying Spitzer as a Republican reinforced the false view being broadcast, that's called propaganda. It's called starting a rumor in order to create a self fulfilling prophecy.
Lord Sidious / Darth Vader 2008 Long Live the Empire! Come to the Dark Side, it is your Destiny.
Seton, Didn't you get the
March 14, 2008 - 10:56 ET by Chris NormanSeton,
Didn't you get the memo? Apparently, none of this non-identification or, in this case, misidentification of Spitzer's party affiliation matters. Bill O'Reilly said so last night. In a question brought up on the segment "The Dhue Point", O'Reilly dismissed the importance of the issue proclaiming, "The media pounded Spitzer into pudding, so this issue is secondary". So there you have it from the arbitor of what's important.
In practical terms, this
March 14, 2008 - 11:44 ET by dscottIn practical terms, this means very little. The vast majority of any damage done -- the error was in place when the news was in fact still news -- has already occurred.
Which brings us to the long standing issue with the MSM and corrections, that being the childish and deceitful manner in which they handle errors of fact. Typical corrections are not noted in the prominence proportional to their location in the paper or broadcast. Virtually everytime one is deigned to be issued, it occurs where most readers would rarely notice it and of sufficient time period where even if you noticed it you wouldn't remember the article in the first place. The correction is issued to satisfy the legality of the correction but not the proportional ethical response to the misinformation. This demonstrates the juvenile behavior of the editors at best or their deliberate deception at worst. There is the technical discharge of the law to meet the bare minimum standard versus the ethical response commensurate with the error. This resembles the standard MO of liberals who make unfounded assertions until they are proven wrong and then clam up and move on to the next assertion. An assertion is not truth until proven otherwise, normal people call this lying.
You are correct, the damage is done as the misinformation is recorded in the subconscious which then colors everything a person sees.
Now contrast this to the way Brit Hume on FNC handles this where he informs the listener of a factual error when discovered.
Lord Sidious / Darth Vader 2008 Long Live the Empire! Come to the Dark Side, it is your Destiny.