Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!execu!sequoia!balkan!dogface!wnss!las From: las@wnss (root) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: JSC phone ripoff followup article Message-ID: Date: 16 Dec 90 01:24:40 GMT References: <1990Dec12.163057.17311@mlb.semi.harris.com> Organization: We Never Stop Searching, Austin, Texas Lines: 31 john@mintaka.mlb.semi.harris.com (John M. Blasik) writes: > In article <1m5XT1w163w@wnss> las@wnss (root) writes: > > But often, we're > >called upon to make judgement calls, determining whether the pressure > >of a deadline is more or less important than taking at face value the > >information given us by a "usually reliable source or informant". > > But what about editors? Our local rag carried the AP story before NASA > responded to the outrageous dollar amount of the loss. They didn't > run a follow-up. > > -- john John, A good editor, or editorial staff (the people who select what news stories a paper will carry) should be aware of the content from previous days, and when a foloup is appropriate, they should publish it. I'm afraid I don't know where you're located, but I'd guess you were reading either a very large metro paper, or a small one. Both size print media have their problems. Large papers often juggle people's schedules around, as well as their assignment. Some small papers tend to hire inexperienced staffers. Not offered as excuses, but rather to explain yet another short-coming in the system. One other problem which this incident may point to. Often AP UPI, Reuters, and other wire service stories are used as "filler" to help feed a news hungry beast on a daily basis. If there are fewer ad's on a given day, but the paper is still printing n pages, something has to fill the white space. These are the stories, I believe, which often fall through the cracks, and aren't given foloup treatment.