LA Times says basketball player dies, even though he is still alive

This is embarrassing...

LA Times prep reporter writes local standout basketball player died in a skateboarding accident...

https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/489608245003030528

Except - WHOOPS! - he's not dead.

This would certainly warrant a big correction, right? Wrong!

Story is updated, changing the headline and story from "dies" to "seriously injured," with the only acknowledgment he was declared dead by the reporter the previous evening well underneath the story.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-chino-hills-center-nnamdi-okongwu-hurt-in-skateboarding-accident-20140716-story.html

 

It's in the second paragraph of the story. Maybe they should have bolded it for you.

Chino Hills Coach Steve Baik had told The Times on Wednesday afternoon that Okongwu, 17, had died and that information was originally reported in this article. The Times is trying to confirm information on Okongwu's status from family members or the hospital. The hospital is releasing no information.

 

Wasn't that way earlier.

 

You can issue your correction anytime.

 

It wasn't that way when I looked at it. Otherwise, why would they have the second graf and the note below the story?

 

The story has since been updated to say he was alive but that the hospital wasn't releasing his condition.

This has happened before with people having serious injuries, life support is off and it being reported that they have died, when they haven't.

My best guess is that the story will be updated, again, to reflect the player dying.

 

Joe Paterno is laughing somewhere.

 

To be fair, I've made hospital calls and received updates that someone was in serious condition, when in fact they were brain dead- they were only being kept alive to harvest organs or wait for family to arrive. Hope that isn't the case here for the kid's sake.

 

I don't see the issue here.

It's sports related, so the rules are different. Go with what you have, and if you get a scoop, great. If not, you can always correct it later, and nobody will question why you rushed to be first when you didn't have the story nailed down.

If the stakes were higher, like if it was a political figure, I could see why people would be upset by this.

 

Maybe Dick Cheney killed him.

 

I'll never forget when the sage advice I got in journalism school... Go with what you have, you can always correct it later.

Holy hell. Are you kidding me?