The New York Post's performance yesterday

Here is a screen shot of the Post's online coverage on Monday:



Not "as many as." Not "could be."

No. "12 dead." Reported as confirmed fact.

 

I love YankeeFan, but every time the Times has a comma out of place, he starts a thread about it.

The Post botches the body count of a terrorist attack - and is the only major news agency to do so - and he wants to call attention to the fact that some radio station somewhere also screwed up because it misreported that color jacket the police commissioner was wearing or what Chinese province one of the victims hailed from. (Exaggerating, but slightly.)

These are not equal sins.

 

The whole wording of that headline is terrible.

 

I alluded to this in my original post, but in the 24-hour news cycle, with the pressure to be first, I'm not sure the media will ever again be a trusted source of news in the immediate aftermath of a big event. I'm sure there will be some great reporting in the future as this investigation moves forward, but when was the last time multiple media outlets didn't quickly get multiple pertinent facts wrong about a big news event?

 

What are some of the big ones?

I can think of:

* Giffords
* Obamacare decision
* 12 dead

I know there are more. I don't even really count 9/11 mistakes, chaotic as that was, or the Dan Rather National Guard story about W., which was a story actually spearheaded by the news source itself rather than a reactive story, or even details like which kids were in which classrooms in Newtown as people tried to sift through the details. I'm talking completely botched, identifiable major facts coming out of a major, breaking news story.

 

On yesterday's cover page The Post must have been looking to recreate the dramatic 9/11 Rachel Uchitel photo.

 

I sat in the newsroom Monday afternoon while the young copy editor rattled off every "report" on his Twitter feed and said, "Don't worry, most of this stuff will turn out to be wrong." I was right.

And Dick, the identity of the Newtown shooter originally was reported as his brother, right?

 

yes and said brother was allegedly found dead in his apartment in Hoboken

 

That's right: Ryan Lanza, correct?

 

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/156515/the-year-in-media-errors-and-corrections-2011/

Best Numerical Error
This was the opening sentence of a column by celebrated magazine writer Chris Jones for Grantland, the sports website launched by Bill Simmons and ESPN this year:


“Without looking it up, I can tell you the night the Toronto Blue Jays won their first World Series — October 27, 1992 — because that was also the night I lost my virginity.”

Actually, the date was October 24.

 

Does Canada use the same calendar as the U.S.?

 

That's right in line with all the folks who pointed out that Monday's bombing, which happened on April 15th, was on the anniversary of Oklahoma City, which was on April 19th.