[meteorite-list] Anyone remember this?

From: MeteorHntr at aol.com <MeteorHntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 8 May 2009 13:31:05 EDT
Message-ID: <cec.5715ef9d.3735c659_at_aol.com>

All,

In my last post, I failed to tie the first point together with the second.
 

Sometimes experts actually do get it right, but the members media of the
media are the ones that twist it and make it wrong with misquotes.

There is a story today in the Wichita paper (at least online) with a
mistake in it, saying Geoff helped me dig up the big 1,430 pound Brenham 3 1/2
years ago. While Geoff did show up a couple of days later, and was
instrumental in helping us get the word out to the media about the Main Mass find,
he wasn't there when it was dug up, Phil Mani was.

Who knows how that mistake happened? Neither Geoff or I said that to the
reporter. She didn't pull that from an earlier story she wrote. Go figure?

But now that it is in print, others will probably run with the "fact" in
future stories.

The poor Fire Chief at Monahans still has the stigma of taking the
meteorite away from the boys that found it because an AP reporter stated it as
fact. We all know it was the Police Chief of Monahans that confiscated the
rock without the due process of law.

"Little mistake" some will say. "Not a big deal" others would say.
"Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story" still others would argue.

It might be a big deal to the Fire Chief, or to Phil Mani, or to any of
the other BILLIONS of people who would like to be able to believe that facts
stated in the media are true as stated.

If editors would edit, or if reporters would run a story buy the quoted
person to fact check before it goes to print, mistakes could be avoided.

But, deadlines have to be met. The next story has to be started. Ads
have to be sold.

It is life in the news media world.

One day soon we won't have newspapers anymore. It will all be online.
And mistakes will be able to be corrected in short order.

Until then, we suffer, and do the best we can with what we've got.

Steve Arnold




In a message dated 5/8/2009 12:02:27 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
MeteorHntr at aol.com writes:
In a message dated 5/8/2009 11:25:52 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
meteoritemike at gmail.com writes:
I just don't understand how any "expert" could be fooled by that
object in the first place.

MikeG,

It happens ALL the time. And reporter "experts" are sometimes the worst.
I don't know how reporters can mess up simple facts. If it was
political,
it stands to reason why a reporter would error ALL the time in favor of
their candidate or topic, but something as benign as meteorites, and they
still mess things up.

We should have a media "Hall of Shame" website devoted to chronicling all
the meteorite mistakes as they happen!

Here is the scenario:

Geologist at the nearest Junior College gets a call from a reporter with
the "facts": "Man has hole in his roof, with a metal rock on the floor
under the hole. Fairly certain it is a meteorite, what do you think?"
Expert,
walking between classes he is teaching: "Does a magnet stick to this so
called 'meteorite'?" Reporter: "Yes, strongly."

Expert, choking on his coffee: "Sounds like it is the real deal, can I
see
it?"

With TV cameras rolling, 2 hours later the expert arrives at the scene,
with fresh images of meteorites in his head that he found on Google just
before he headed out of the office, he is handed the object and he says...

We all know what he says. Just read the quotes.

That is how it happens.

The universe is now rotating around him instead of the sun for a few days
and his head is spinning on his great fortune. He starts swerving over
into other areas of expertise like Financial Advising, telling the finder
not
to be suckered into selling his meteorite too cheap to the first greedy
dealer that comes along to rip him off.

Or he goes the other way and tells the finder, that if he donates the
rock
to his institution, that all the positive PR this will generate for his
school will help him get on that tenured track he is coveting. Oh wait,
he
THINKS that, he actually tells the finder that only science will find the
mysteries of the universe locked in his rock if he gives it to the
school,
and that if a dealer gets it instead, it will only be cut into pieces.

He starts thinking about the grant money he can get when he writes the
paper on it. Maybe he will get to speak at the Rotary Luncheon? Even
now his
students that laugh at him will HAVE to respect him.

I could go on, about how "science" will have to look at the donated
object
through glass, as the committee at the school responsible for it won't
allow it to ever be cut...but I won't.

Shove a TV camera in front of about anyone, and it amazing what comes out
of their mouth sometimes.

Steve Arnold



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Received on Fri 08 May 2009 01:31:05 PM PDT