[meteorite-list] Brilliant Light Plunging Into Pacific May Have Been Meteor

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From: MeteorHntr_at_aol.com <MeteorHntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:43 2004
Message-ID: <71.beb122e.27f3890d_at_aol.com>

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In a message dated 3/28/01 2:59:24 AM Central Standard Time,
capricorn89_at_earthlink.net writes:

>
>
> Having been a guide at the Griffith Observatory when I was an undergraduate
> major in Astronomy at U.C.L.A., I can verify that the guide staff is made
> up of upper division and graduate students majoring in Astronomy,
> Astrophysics and Physics, usually at U.C.L.A., U.S.C. and CalTech. They
> are quite competent.
>
> Ron Hartman
>

Hello Ron and list,

It really doesn't matter if the museum guides are qualified or not. When you
have unqualified media reporters and editors that couldn't care less about
checking for accuracy, even a misquote from you would help dumb down everyone
else that might care enough to read the story.

I just hope this museum guide, Troy Powers, is competent enough to contact
the reporter and/or his editor and point out the problem, so maybe next time
it won't happen again.

I remember the Monahans media event and one incompetent AP reporter wrote a
story so filled with errors that some of them took on a life of their own
afterwards. One was that the Fire Chief had confiscated the rock from the 7
boys, when in fact it was the Police Chief. I know that is not a
scientifically important fact, but it was very easy fact to get right if one
listens carefully or if the guy can read own short hand. If an AP reporter
can't get that little fact right, what else can you not trust in his story?
Anyway, who knows how many other stories later carried the "Fire Chief" fact
into their papers since their source on the information (an AP Story) was
impeccable, not needing to be confirmed.

I am going on and on here as if this museum guide even cares if he is
misquoted or not. He was probably excited to just get his name in the paper.
But those of us who might care here on the list ought to be a little more
careful when we talk with the media in the future. Even suggesting to the
reporter that most all reporters really end up embarrassing themselves with
misquotes, maybe offering to "proofread" his copy before submitting it might
help.

But then again, maybe ignorance is bliss?

Steve Arnold

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<HTML>In a message dated 3/28/01 2:59:24 AM Central Standard Time,
 capricorn89_at_earthlink.net writes:
 
 
 <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">
 
 Having been a guide at the Griffith Observatory when I was an undergraduate
 major in Astronomy at U.C.L.A., I can verify that the guide staff is made
 up of upper division and graduate students majoring in Astronomy,
 Astrophysics and Physics, usually at U.C.L.A., U.S.C. and CalTech.  They
 are quite competent.
 
 Ron Hartman
 </BLOCKQUOTE>
 
 
 Hello Ron and list,
 
 It really doesn't matter if the museum guides are qualified or not.  When you
 have unqualified media reporters and editors that couldn't care less about
 checking for accuracy, even a misquote from you would help dumb down everyone
 else that might care enough to read the story.  
 
 I just hope this museum guide, Troy Powers, is competent enough to contact
 the reporter and/or his editor and point out the problem, so maybe next time
 it won't happen again.
 
 I remember the Monahans media event and one incompetent AP reporter wrote a
 story so filled with errors that some of them took on a life of their own
 afterwards.  One was that the Fire Chief had confiscated the rock from the 7
 boys, when in fact it was the Police Chief.  I know that is not a
 scientifically important fact, but it was very easy fact to get right if one
 listens carefully or if the guy can read own short hand.  If an AP reporter
 can't get that little fact right, what else can you not trust in his story?  
 Anyway, who knows how many other stories later carried the "Fire Chief" fact
 into their papers since their source on the information (an AP Story) was
 impeccable, not needing to be confirmed.
 
 I am going on and on here as if this museum guide even cares if he is
 misquoted or not.  He was probably excited to just get his name in the paper.
   But those of us who might care here on the list ought to be a little more
 careful when we talk with the media in the future.  Even suggesting to the
 reporter that most all reporters really end up embarrassing themselves with
 misquotes, maybe offering to "proofread" his copy before submitting it might
 help.
 
 But then again, maybe ignorance is bliss?
 
 Steve Arnold</HTML>

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Received on Wed 28 Mar 2001 01:35:57 PM PST

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