08-02-2012, 05:56 PM
Hey Garvin,
The point I was trying to make was there is very little news in Montana. The population of the state of Montana is just about half of the population of Santa Clara County. In order to put out a paper every day, reporters have to make much ado about nothing. In this case the reporter implied that reliable information existed when it didn't. And yes, he was creative. How many people here thought that the coach's statement was evidence? How many people thought that the phone calls that were not returned were evidence? How many people thought that there were so many blogs that their had to be some truth to it? The reporter also wrote this story such that if the information was false, he could not be held accountable. This is the stuff we saw in the paper all the time. Creative sensationalism.
What I did not say is that this is the state of journalism everywhere! I said Just the opposite. I am sure that in most places they take the time to check out stories. And, I did not intend to step on your toes.
I have some personal experiences with reporters in Montana. I used to volunteer a lot of time as an emergency medical technician. When I read a story about one of my first calls I could not believe it. A minor injury turned into a life threatening emergency where we had to feverishly stamp out a heliport pad in the snow. This is when I learned that Montanans read the news like it was a horoscope.
The point I was trying to make was there is very little news in Montana. The population of the state of Montana is just about half of the population of Santa Clara County. In order to put out a paper every day, reporters have to make much ado about nothing. In this case the reporter implied that reliable information existed when it didn't. And yes, he was creative. How many people here thought that the coach's statement was evidence? How many people thought that the phone calls that were not returned were evidence? How many people thought that there were so many blogs that their had to be some truth to it? The reporter also wrote this story such that if the information was false, he could not be held accountable. This is the stuff we saw in the paper all the time. Creative sensationalism.
What I did not say is that this is the state of journalism everywhere! I said Just the opposite. I am sure that in most places they take the time to check out stories. And, I did not intend to step on your toes.
I have some personal experiences with reporters in Montana. I used to volunteer a lot of time as an emergency medical technician. When I read a story about one of my first calls I could not believe it. A minor injury turned into a life threatening emergency where we had to feverishly stamp out a heliport pad in the snow. This is when I learned that Montanans read the news like it was a horoscope.