A Clarification Without Correction

Received the following email on today's blog entry:

On 2/26/07, **** wrote:

a few words got left out. I remember when AP first started sending stories on punch tape so that Linotype machines could set the text in hot type without a need for human intervention. Same typos appeared from coast to coast.

--
With rare exception, could our national press corps be any more self-regarding, empty, corrupt and worthless? --Glenn Greenwald

To which I replied:

You don't need to quote my own words back to me. I got it the FIRST time. :-)

[quoting myself] The point is NOT that "Gary Gentile" elided part of the quote. Typos happen all the time -- especially on deadline. No: It's that NO ONE in the proofreading process, either at AP, or around the world NOTICED IT!

That's how we get our news.

Let me elaborate: I have been concerned for some time about the manner in which our newspapers are becoming satellite radio stations -- all coverage comes from a central, sloppy source.

This was the perfect example to kick off that discussion.

What is at issue is that every newspaper involved had someone who watched the Oscars, and every newspaper involved might have LOOKED at what they were printing before posting it. But they're not even proofreaders anymore, let alone journalists.

Can we really AFFORD that? Is THAT the MSM that increasingly and reflexively slams bloggers? That calls OUR veracity into question?

And sloppy "Gary Gentile" (a name I don't believe for a minute) becomes the ONLY voice of record. This afternoon, I had great fun noticing how many "news" writers' "original" pieces mindlessly quoted the AP elide, as well. *

Plagiarism Über Alles.

Bests

Never before have we had so many outlets for news, and yet, paradoxically, never before have we had fewer sources of news.

Courage.

* see Playfuls.com which reminds me of the old "cheating by looking at the other guy's test paper" and getting caught because the student repeated the idiotic mistakes as well.