Should newspapers be held accountable for bad journalism?

Johnny Versace

Newspapers like the Evening herald, or news programmes like Sky News frequently report inaccurate stories.

You know the type... VIRUS THREATENS TO DESTORY THE INTERNET or IRELAND HIT BY AIDS EPIDEMIC...

The usual shít, where you know they've done minimal research and are just trying to scare/shock people.

I think this is bad, because the majority of people are not tech or medicine savvy, so will believe this ****.

I really believe newpapers should be fined for this sort of behaviour.

Anyone agree?

TacT

Of course they should

The purpose of your life is to find a purpose in life (with regards jesus loves you in your journal on your webby)

inaccessibleisl

Yes. Journalism based on theorys or tales not backed by 100% court proven
facts should be erradicated. People who write them should be put in big giant
buckets and pushed wth a big giant man made hand into the pacific ocean and
everynow and so often robots with lazer shooting cannon nipples should be set loose on people to remind them that no story may be told unless proved to be
100% correct.

uberwolf

I reckon society relies, to some extent, on journalists diggin up these sordid stories. However the tabloids in general should perhaps be banned?

Johnny Versace

Originally posted by TacT
Of course they should

The purpose of your life is to find a purpose in life (with regards jesus loves you in your journal on your webby)

HAH! Hey Dunc... what's up?

I'm in a ranting mood. Too much caffeine!

Hey inaccessibleisl: I'm talking about blatantly incorrect stories. I understand people can make mistakes etc.

monument

Originally posted by Johnny Versace
I really believe newpapers should be fined for this sort of behaviour.

Anyone agree?

No.

Originally posted by uberwolf
However the tabloids in general should perhaps be banned?

How every much I dislike the red tops, I'd still have to say no to that as well.

Doctor J

Definitely. The newspaper employs an editor to control what is published. These days it seems the editor is there to ensure the more sensationalist 'stories' are published to generate big profits rather than any form of 'news' recounting.

yellum

Theres a press complaints commission in the UK to handle stuff like that. I don't know are they reactive or practive though. I think they'll only investigate if someone makes a complaint.

inaccessibleisl

Originally posted by Johnny Versace


Hey inaccessibleisl: I'm talking about blatantly incorrect stories. I understand people can make mistakes etc.

I was being serious.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

yellum

The Guardian and Observer seem to be notable exceptions. The BBC especially the World Service is very good.

Johnny Versace

Originally posted by yellum
The Guardian and Observer seem to be notable exceptions. The BBC especially the World Service is very good.

Agreed.

uberwolf

Originally posted by yellum
The Guardian and Observer seem to be notable exceptions. The BBC especially the World Service is very good.

The Irish Times does a good job IMO, although tis virtually the gaurdian by a diff name if you look at the story sources

Victor

The "Irish Sun" had a cover piece today about the first Irishman to go to the South Pole.... complete forgetting to mention this guy http://www.south-pole.com/p0000097.htm (OK he didn't quite make it, but nevertheless deserves a mention).

claire h

People just need to learn not to believe everything they hear or read...

uberwolf

Originally posted by claire h
People just need to learn not to believe everything they hear or read...

where are they going to learn that from?

Capt'n Midnight

Then again Mr S would not have made a good story.
Irishman gets to within 97 miles of the pole, turns back 'cos otherwise they won't have enough food for the return journey.

The corrections should be a lot bigger in the papers. Also I think you should be able to demand your money back if an "exclusive" can be obtained in any other paper at the time..

Far too many ViewsPapers (ie. their views on things not the Page 3 stuff) - at least the Daily Sport did it in style.

Chevano Riley

i think the evening herald should be shut down purely on the basis that their writers (note the lack of word 'journalists') seem incapable of stringing together a sentence correct in grammer, punctuation and spelling. and obviously for all of the reasons above too.

flogen

i see the original point, but sadly it would be too hard to do so. when the sun reports something it puts a spin on it. for example their appauling coverage of the war in iraq. There are so many innacuracies its up to the stories subject to take action, in for instance an liable case.

Also someone said that an editor is only there to get sensational stories. that is true for tabloid rags, but not for respectable broadsheets. they always lead with the most important story, and not one about a celeb having sex with someone.

As i said, i dont think putting a bias on a story is actually illegal, neither is hyping it up (within some reason). These actions are moral rather than legal, and alot of media outlets have forsaken morals for €€€€'s.

Flogen

monument

Originally posted by Chevano Riley
i think the evening herald should be shut down purely on the basis that their writers (note the lack of [the] word 'journalists') seem incapable of stringing together a sentence correct in grammer, punctuation and spelling. and obviously for all of the reasons above too.

Some people may like to think like that, however anybody who works in journalism is a journalist, if you’re trying to imply that they are not journalists because of the style they use, or the standards they write to, you’re talking complete rubbish.

(BTW, it’s not grammer, it is grammar. So that’s around five errors in total?)

TUTS

Yes!

Too many times people have been slandered, lives are poked through with a fine tooth comb. Yet incorrect reporting of events and happenings still take place.

They have to sensationalise it to make interesting, (most of time) otherwise they
wont make their sales, targets, viewer poles..... etc. Bad news is good news....just make it worse and it gets better.

If they were held accountable for blatant mis-reporting......the world would be a better place...... ha.

Tabloids=Eye candy.

Broadsheets=Minimal Info most of time.

Internet BBC World Service......Annova......CNN.........SKY News.(Put all of these together and you'll prob get the real story.)

TuTs

Chevano Riley

Originally posted by monument
Some people may like to think like that, however anybody who works in journalism is a journalist, if you’re trying to imply that they are not journalists because of the style they use, or the standards they write to, you’re talking complete rubbish.

(BTW, it’s not grammer, it is grammar. So that’s around five errors in total?)

chortle, chortle, etc etc. i dont strive for perfection when i post on messageboards. and i dont use capitalisation, it takes too long. if i was writing in a newspaper, id take more care. the only error i apologise for there is the misspelling. in yesterdays herald in about 5 minutes of browsing i found more errors than i can even remmeber. things like 'he was quiet drunk'. and a line using the phrase 'all be it', in place of albeit. i dont write for a living and wouldnt expect people to pay for what i write. but these people do, and they write trash.

monument

Originally posted by Chevano Riley
but these people do, and they write trash.

Yes, I know they do, my main point was they are still journalists. Sorry about taking the piss - I couldn’t help it.

Any way the stuff you listed - grammar, punctuation and spelling - should be found and corrected by an editor before publication, but I’d imagine that evening papers have higher objectives – like speed, and taking into account how much they think their readers would want correct use of English.

Originally posted by TUTS
Broadsheets=Minimal Info most of time.

What newspapers have your read?

Capt'n Midnight

IMHO
Yeah I've always been amazed at Sunday Indo - you get a full page article, you read it and you get a feeling that there was so little information in it.

But you can't leglislate as they will try the old trick - ringing up Buckingham palace and asking questions.

Offical sources refused to comment on allegations that the Queen had sexual relations with one of the corgai's. And the rest of the article could detail what would happen if the rumours are confirmed....

E&OE.

Chevano Riley

the sunday indo is such trash. theres not enough worthwhile reading to justify its existance. they cant even get the tv listings right.

i feel so sorry for the irish times. theyre making losses left right & centre but theyve never put out anything less than a great paper.

Johnny Versace

Originally posted by Chevano Riley
i feel so sorry for the irish times. theyre making losses left right & centre but theyve never put out anything less than a great paper.

Gotta disagree with you a bit here. The two topics I'm nost interested in (technology and the Middle East) are reported terribly in the Times. Their technology facts are up their arse (even little things like writing "computer programme"), and they have a right wing Jewish Israeli writing about the Middle East. That's just _wrong_.

Their Irish reporting is good though.

Stephen

Tabloid editors drink buckets of hot horse piss for fun. Sky News needs a kicking too, "SKY NEWS FLASH!! - SOME GIMP WINS POP IDOL!!"

monument

News flash: ‘Tabloid editors drink hot horse piss’

According to a Boards.ie user named ‘Stephen’, the editors of tabloid newspapers drink hot horse urine just for fun.

In a statement made some time around 21:52 on Sunday night on the Irish message board system’s “Afterhours” forum ‘Stephen’ said ‘Tabloid editors drink buckets of hot horse piss for fun’.

In the statement, he also included a complaint about Sky News’s onscreen news flash about some program apparently called “POP IDOL”; - although we’d find it difficulty to kick a whole news station - he added that ‘Sky News needs a kicking too’.

Since this is a “piss take” (or even if it wasn’t) we couldn’t have been arsed to ask any tabloid editor of they did drink horse piss.