Re: Journalism & the real truth

["Doug, Data Librarian at Ext 4225" <engstromdd -at- PHIBRED -dot- COM>]

Joe Fockler writes, replying to Sandy (next to plus signs):

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+ Journalism majors seem to know
+ more about digging and piecing things together and playing one source
+ off another to get down to the real truth.

Unless I've lost my command for the obvious, this is an oxymoron!

Journalism and truth are mutually exclusive. I live here in the Dallas,
Texas area. Nearly three years ago channel 4 (or channel 5) did a great
"investigative report" on the abuse of the worker's compensation program.
The investigative reporter, Jeff Crilley, and a private investigator
(let's call him Sherlock Holmes) investigated various people who were
collecting workers compensation and yet, were still working and earning a
living. One guy in particular was collecting workers comp for a wrist
injury. They followed him through the streets of downtown and caught up
with him in the West End district where he opened up his juggling act on
a street corner. Passers by even dropped money into his basket.

When questioned about his juggling abililty the man replied, "Yea, I
think I'm pretty good."  When the reported questioned him about
collecting workers compensation he got wide eyed, packed up his juggling
act and moved on.

To make this long story just a little shorter ... I worked at the same
company with "the juggler". He had never filed or claimed workers
compensation. However, he was paid by the investigative reporter to
juggle, the passers by were paid to drop money in the basket, ...

There was even a post juggle interview in which the juggler admitted that
what he did was wrong and that he was going to own up to his mistake and
rectify the situation. The only problem with the interview was that it
was filmed before he was followed through the streets of downtown Dallas,
before he was confronted with fraud!

I call that, piecing things together to get the real truth.

(with my best Connie Chung impersonation, in a whisper) ... Come on, just
between you and me, what do you call this?
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Me?  For starters, I'd call it a technical communicator who assigns and
awful lot of credibility to a person who, by his own account, is perfectly
willing to participate in public fraud.

Don't believe everything you read, certainly not everything you see on TV;
BUT, don't believe everything you hear around the water cooler, either.
Just a tip from a J-school grad.

Next question....

Skoal,

Doug                            "We must be ready to overcome our
ENGSTROMDD -at- phibred -dot- com           successes."
                                                --Unknown

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The preceding opinions and positions are mine alone, and are only
coincidentally related to those of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
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