[meteorite-list] Anyone remember this?

[MeteorHntr at aol.com]

All,

In my last post, I failed to tie the  first point together with the second. 
 

Sometimes experts actually  do get it right, but the members media of the 
media are the ones that twist it  and make it wrong with misquotes. 

There is a story today in the Wichita  paper (at least online) with a 
mistake in it, saying Geoff helped me dig up the  big 1,430 pound Brenham 3 1/2 
years ago.  While Geoff did show up a couple  of days later, and was 
instrumental in helping us get the word out to the media  about the Main Mass find, 
he wasn't there when it was dug up, Phil Mani was.  

Who knows how that mistake happened?  Neither Geoff or I said that  to the 
reporter.  She didn't pull that from an earlier story she  wrote.  Go figure?

But now that it is in print, others will probably  run with the "fact" in 
future stories.

The poor Fire Chief at Monahans  still has the stigma of taking the 
meteorite away from the boys that found it  because an AP reporter stated it as 
fact.  We all know it was the Police  Chief of Monahans that confiscated the 
rock without the due process of  law.

"Little mistake" some will say.  "Not a big deal" others would  say.  
"Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story" still others  would argue.

It might be a big deal to the Fire Chief, or to Phil Mani,  or to any of 
the other BILLIONS of people who would like to be able to believe  that facts 
stated in the media are true as stated.

If editors would edit,  or if reporters would run a story buy the quoted 
person to fact check before it  goes to print, mistakes could be avoided.  

But, deadlines have to  be met.  The next story has to be started.  Ads 
have to be  sold.

It is life in the news media world. 

One day soon we won't  have newspapers anymore.  It will all be online.  
And mistakes will be  able to be corrected in short order. 

Until then, we suffer, and do the  best we can with what we've got.

Steve Arnold




In a  message dated 5/8/2009 12:02:27 P.M. Central Daylight Time, 
MeteorHntr at aol.com  writes:
In a message dated 5/8/2009 11:25:52 A.M. Central Daylight  Time,  
meteoritemike at gmail.com writes:
I just don't understand how  any "expert"  could be fooled by that
object in the first place.   

MikeG,

It happens ALL the time. And reporter "experts" are  sometimes  the worst.  
I don't know how reporters can mess up  simple facts.  If  it was 
political, 
it stands to reason why a  reporter would error ALL the time in  favor of 
their candidate or  topic, but something as benign as meteorites, and  they 
still mess  things up.

We should have a media "Hall of Shame" website  devoted  to chronicling all 
the meteorite mistakes as they happen!

Here  is  the scenario:

Geologist at the nearest Junior College gets a  call from a  reporter with 
the "facts":  "Man has hole in his  roof, with a metal rock on  the floor 
under the hole.  Fairly  certain it is a meteorite, what do you  think?"  
Expert, 
walking  between classes he is teaching: "Does a magnet  stick to this so 
called  'meteorite'?"  Reporter: "Yes,  strongly."

Expert, choking on  his coffee: "Sounds like it is the real  deal, can I 
see  
it?"

With TV cameras rolling, 2 hours later the expert  arrives  at the scene, 
with fresh images of meteorites in his head that he  found  on Google just 
before he headed out of the office, he is handed  the object and  he says...

We all know what he says.  Just read  the quotes.

That is how it  happens.  

The universe is  now rotating around him instead of the  sun for a few days 
and his head  is spinning on his great fortune.  He  starts swerving over 
into  other areas of expertise like Financial Advising,  telling the finder 
not  
to be suckered into selling his meteorite too cheap to  the first  greedy 
dealer that comes along to rip him off.  

Or he   goes the other way and tells the finder, that if he donates the 
rock 
to  his  institution, that all the positive PR this will generate for his  
school will  help him get on that tenured track he is coveting.   Oh wait, 
he 
THINKS  that, he actually tells the finder that only  science will find the 
mysteries of  the universe locked in his rock if  he gives it to the 
school, 
and that if a  dealer gets it instead, it  will only be cut into pieces. 

He starts thinking about the grant money  he can get when he writes the  
paper on it.  Maybe he will get to  speak at the Rotary Luncheon?  Even  
now his 
students that laugh  at him will HAVE to respect him.

I could go  on, about how "science"  will have to look at the donated 
object 
through glass,  as the  committee at the school responsible for it won't 
allow it to ever be   cut...but I won't.

Shove a TV camera in front of about anyone, and  it  amazing what comes out 
of their mouth sometimes.

Steve   Arnold



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