Mistakes on RTÉ website news section

Micilin Muc

How is it possible that RTÉ make so many mistakes in their news articles on their website?

Example 1: Image of Garda Traffic Corps member used in an article on a murder.

Example 2: Objectivity in this article on Iris Robinson, for example "But authoritative sources with the party claim the leader believes his marriage may not even survive, never mind his political career." (This article previously included the term "toyboy".)

Example 3: Co. Louth described as the North East of the country.


I believe a first-year communications student could do a more professional job.

mike65

Its been well noted in these parts that the website appears to be the playgound of particularly slack-arsed sorts.

jdivision

Very often the articles are the written form of the radio report so in the Robinson thing I wouldn't be surprised if it was the usual Tommy O'Gorman stuff. As for Louth, it is the most north easterly county in the Republic, I'd say eastern county but it's not that mad an assertion. The Garda pic thing is just laziness.

Rosita

Micilin Muc wrote: »

How is it possible that RTÉ make so many mistakes in their news articles on their website?

Example 1: Image of Garda Traffic Corps member used in an article on a murder.

Example 2: Objectivity in this article on Iris Robinson, for example "But authoritative sources with the party claim the leader believes his marriage may not even survive, never mind his political career." (This article previously included the term "toyboy".)

Example 3: Co. Louth described as the North East of the country.


I believe a first-year communications student could do a more professional job.

I'm not sure about the problem with examples 2 & 3. The langauge used in example 2 might be argued to be slightly less formal than the wriiten word normally is but if we accept that the "authoritative sources" are genuine it seems fair enough.

As for example 3 - if Louth is not in the North-East how should it be described? It is the most Northern-Easterly county in the Irish Republic. Let's face it, if there was a major closure or jobs loss in Antrim they would be expected to say Northern Ireland or Antrim rather than the "North-East of the country". That alone seems to me to make North-East a reasonable description of Louth - I think most of us would know the area they meant by using the term "North-East" which is as good a test of it as any I would say.

Micilin Muc

Rosita wrote: »

As for example 3 - if Louth is not in the North-East how should it be described? It is the most Northern-Easterly county in the Irish Republic. Let's face it, if there was a major closure or jobs loss in Antrim they would be expected to say Northern Ireland or Antrim rather than the "North-East of the country". That alone seems to me to make North-East a reasonable description of Louth - I think most of us would know the area they meant by using the term "North-East" which is as good a test of it as any I would say.

I'd be more inclined to say Louth-Meath rather than the North East. In a separate news report, they described it as the northeast of the country. To me, the country is the island, and the State is the Republic, but that's another debate altogether.

The three examples I used are ones I took note of, but I see mistakes on their site every day. I know everybody makes mistakes, but not every day!

Rosita

Micilin Muc wrote: »

I'd be more inclined to say Louth-Meath rather than the North East. In a separate news report, they described it as the northeast of the country. To me, the country is the island, and the State is the Republic, but that's another debate altogether.

Yes, considering that Meath was included what you're saying is fair enough I suppose.

I would be in full agreement the country/state argument!

silverharp

then there was this all time classic


https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/81157/61004.jpg

shotgun mike

Micilin Muc wrote: »

How is it possible that RTÉ make so many mistakes in their news articles on their website?


Example 2: Objectivity in this article on Iris Robinson, for example "But authoritative sources with the party claim the leader believes his marriage may not even survive, never mind his political career." (This article previously included the term "toyboy".)

Example 3: Co. Louth described as the North East of the country.


I believe a first-year communications student could do a more professional job.

Not to repeat what a previous poster said but if example two did come from an authoritative source (and it probably did considering its PA copy) well then there is nothing wrong with that sentence. In fact, it is quite important to the story that a source from the party describes his chances for polituical survival.

If Co Louth is not the north-east of the republic of ireland - then where exactly is it??

everyone makes mistakes, but in two out of just three examples? A first year communications student could probably pick out better ones

Run_to_da_hills

The Garda thing is down to a clip arts that they paste up when reporting Garda matters. All media do the same, the clips themselves are only used to attract attention and may not be associated with the incident.

These are common ones that you often see repeated by both RTE and the BBC.

TMH

How about this for an un-PC angle:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0110/youngscientist.html

bangersandmash

TMH wrote: »

How about this for an un-PC angle:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0110/youngscientist.html

Very poor. I remember noticing about two years ago that RTE suddenly seemed to make a conscious effort to report certain articles in a more light-hearted and "quirky" way. Unfortunately, unlike the occasional left-field article on the BBC news site, it simply doesn't work for RTE. There seems to be a pretty strange distinction between where the light-hearted approach is appropriate, and where it isn't. There really is no need for them to follow in the footsteps of Sky News - TV3 have that news niche covered.

Euro_Kraut

TMH wrote: »

How about this for an un-PC angle:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0110/youngscientist.html

"Boffins".. cringe. Thats real tabliod speak.

TMH

Euro_Kraut wrote: »

"Boffins".. cringe. Thats real tabliod speak.

Haha I was just thinking that.
How about "It is a hairy issue..."

Ingenious.

monument

Remember if you see something on a breaking news website, or even any website, remember to take a screen shot or copy the original text.

irish1967

Missed taking a screenshot but RTE reporting the iceberg off the Donegal coast last week was hilariously bad !! And it isn't even the start of April yet

Slideshowbob

ooops I started a thread on the exact same sort of errors yesterday.

Perhaps a considerate moderator could merge them?

Thanks

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=64432953

Pikeman

RTE site are forever getting sport articles wrong also.
Scores, player's names, team names etc.

You're guaranteed mistakes every week in there.

Micilin Muc

I'm convinced they don't have any dictionaries in Donnybrook. Tonight they mixed up hangar (for planes) and hanger (for clothes).

They used "hangar" twice and "hanger" twice - obviously not sure which is right.

Micilin Muc

More mistakes today:

Mr McManus this development was 'sad'.

Mr McManus told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment that the Mr Gavin's report on the flooding of the Lee contained several inaccuracies.

He argued that the warnings given by the ESB on 19 November could not have been anymore explicit on the volume of water being discharged from the ESB dam.

Daysha

Pikeman wrote: »

RTE site are forever getting sport articles wrong also.
Scores, player's names, team names etc.

You're guaranteed mistakes every week in there.

He's not joking...

http://i48.tinypic.com/2lcn3m8.jpg