[meteorite-list] NYT story

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 22:53:39 -0400
Message-ID: <BANLkTikra8g2cJRuVJigAb97Wcs5-V9d_g_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Johnno,

You are correct sir. The NYT is not going to post a rebuttal and they
are not going to vett their material or sources. The National
Enquirer or the Weekly World News have more journalistic integrity.
Sadly, many laypeople who don't know better are going to read this
piece of flotsam and confuse it with real journalism. Some readers
are going to walk away misinformed about meteorites and they are going
to repeat that misinformation if the opportunity arises. The damage
is already done. I sent the NYT a polite but firm rebuttal of the
story, and I am sure other members of the meteorite community have
done the same. They now know the article is junk, if they didn't know
it already.

Like I said earlier, a tale full of intrigue sells copy and ads.

Which is more interesting for the reader who doesn't know about meteorites -

1) Lawless terrorists with Al-Qaeda connections are secretly smuggling
meteorites out of the desert to fund their drug operations and to
purchase weapons. These meteorites are then traded on a shadowy black
market where small pieces can fetch a large fortune.

2) Ordinary people legally find, purchase, and collect space rocks as
a hobby or educational endeavour.

The New York Times knows that #1 will generate more revenue, and that
is what they went with. That is entertainment for hire (and poor at
that) and not journalism.

Best regards,

MikeG

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On 4/5/11, John.L.Cabassi <John at cabassi.net> wrote:
> G'Day Everyone
> With the little time I have, I've been watching this thread develop.
> Personally, I feel fuel has been added to the fire. The constant hits on
> the NYT site will add to a fever pitch for those involved and I can see
> a follow up developing because of so much interest. They aren't going to
> apologize. They're just plain stupid. My first and last comment on this
> issue.
>
> Cheers
> John
>
>
>
>
>
> Eric,
>
> Instead of a paper copy, how about a link to the artucle?
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/science/05meteorite.html?scp=1&sq=mete
> orites&st=cse
>
> Ed
>
>
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--

Received on Tue 05 Apr 2011 10:53:39 PM PDT