Journalism by Innuendo - The CharO Edition
Submitted by Betsy Muse on Sat, 06/23/2007 - 8:53am
The Charlotte Observer has a new "reporter" and she sure does have a lot to learn. Ms. Cherrie is not one to let a little old thing like accuracy get in her way. Nah...it's a lot easier to just toss out some tidbits about folks instead of calling them to fill in the big old fat blanks she leaves in her wake.
I'm referencing the little gossip piece that appears in this morning's Charlotte Observer. Ms. Cherrie finds it curious that while sitting for three hours and 15 minutes, members of Charlotte's city council periodically get up and leave the chamber. She actually tracked their comings and goings and it is shocking! Some of them actually leave the chamber during the same span of time. Oh my!
What could they possibly need to do while/after sitting for three hours and 15 minutes through what many consider normal dinner hours? They couldn't possibly need to use the restroom, grab a nibble in the breakroom or just stretch their backs after sitting in one place for so long, could they?
I was curious, so I called Patsy Kinsey to find out what she did during that approximate 10 minutes she was away from the chamber. The conversation went something like this:
Betsy: "Mom, what were you doing during the 10 minutes you left the meeting chamber during the city council meeting?
Patsy Kinsey: "I excused myself to the restroom but I wasn't gone for 10 minutes. I might have been standing off to the side for a couple of minutes. I sometimes do that to stretch my back after sitting so long."
Breaking news!!! Members of the Charlotte City Council have to take pee breaks. Oh my goodness! Now, that's scandalous.
Also according to Kinsey/Mom, she was not doing any last minute negotiations. I'll check with the others, but most were probably just taking a break, conducting business(many are employed with real life jobs), talking with family, eating, stretching, using the bathroom all while being able to stay on top of the discussions in the chamber via a closed circuit television located in the break room.
Now, Ms. Cherrie is new, so maybe I shouldn't expect her to know all the facts about the city council, but there's this little thing about IT BEING HER FREAKING JOB that kinda gets in the way. Sadly, it isn't the first time she's had trouble with details. In her piece out on Friday, she referred to Tony Zeiss as the executive director of CPCC. Tony Zeiss is the president of CPCC.
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Ugh
I'll bet Ms. Cherrie figured she was doing the Lois Lane thing and gettin' to the bottom of some big conspiracy. Sounds like she needs to be reassigned to the Bush DOJ.
When I was on the Chapel Hill Town Council, I got up and took breaks regularly. If you don't, you go brain-dead, like Ms. Cherrie.
I guess I shouldn't pick on her since she's new
and she might be a very lovely person. I don't know. I've never met her. Doubt I'll get a smile and a hug when I do. :)
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
"New" is the perfect time
Journalists as malleable, just like other human beings. The Puppetshow and the corporate interests have been spending millions and millions . . . more like billions . . . to influence journalists to do and write what serves their agendas. And it has worked.
We may not have the billions, but we have the power of instant, intimate responses. Maybe Ms. Cherrie will think twice about writing a stupid story next time. Maybe she'll actually talk to a source.
And if she doesn't, she can expect to be skewered.
There was a time when the watchdogs had the public interest at the center of their mission. That time is gone. Staff cuts and the drive to sustain margins in a changing world have over-stretched the capacity of many news organizations. Too many newspapers are going the way of TV news . . . down the toilet.
why not introduce her...
...to councilmember mom?
perhaps then she'll feel more comfortable coming up to her and asking questions...
Not a bad idea
but can't imagine a time when the three of us would be in the same room at the same time.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
To get a earth breaking story! Hit the men's rooms Dear!
Now, Ms. Cherrie is new, so maybe I shouldn't expect her to know all the facts about the city council, but there's this little thing about IT BEING HER FREAKING JOB that kinda gets in the way.* B
Wow! A freaking kid journalist who does not understand what nature is all about. Mr Cherrie should research the restrooms of politics. Such as Hunter Thompson and Nixon pissing together during a mixup of Aircraft exits. In fact, meeting famous pols in restrooms is nothing new. I once ran into President Jimmy Carter taking a piss with me during a Hawks basketball game. Had a great conservation about the game and sneaking peeks at each other private area during the relief....Men do that even if you are the President.....It's a man thing...after the relief he shook my hand before going to wash himself and wish me luck.....
Note! I had forgot. My 7 year old son was standing next to me and the President patted him on the head after shaking my hand......to this day, my son comments about being the only 7 year old kid who had the President of the United States piss on him
Check you out getting all snarky
Yeah, they need to know we're watching. When I make a mistake at PGBB, I get really nasty emails and I find out I just have a title wrong or something like that. But then again, it's not my full-time paying job and I have no copy editors or any other kind of editor . . .
Some suggest that we should work at developing relationships with reporters who cover the news items that interest us. Then we can call or email them with new information or tidbits. But I don't know. Most reporters around here are so far from ever reporting anything that we would like them to that it seems like shaming them might be more effective.
News of the 10th district: See Pat Go Bye Bye,
I know....I know...I'm being mean
I have no problem with having a working relationship with reporters. Getting Tony Zeiss' title wrong isn't the end of the world, but allowing that to slide could lead to other sloppy habits with her research and writing.
Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.
Oh, yeah, I don't think you should let any
inaccuracy slide no matter how small. It's part of the job. And some papers are basically historical records for their community. Attention must be paid.
News of the 10th district: See Pat Go Bye Bye,
Did the Charloot Observer
outsource their copy editing to Bangalore? maybe ...
please don't disrespect...
...hard-working bangalorean editors...who are pretty good at geting their stories right.
for all we know, the c/o could just as easily be outsourcing to murdoch.
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