Aren’t Editors Supposed To Catch This Sort Of Thing

Posted on 01.06.08 in General and there are 13 comments.

I’ve seen some pretty lame news coverage, but this is the lamest I’ve seen in awhile:
This was in our newspaper this morning.

As you can see the cover story is all about Benazir Bhutto and how she may very well be America’s best hope against terrorism in the mideast if she wins the upcoming election.

Um...does anyone else see the problem?

I looked through the entire magazine. There was no update as to the welfare of Bhutto (who was assasinated over a week ago). There wasn’t an update on the article, an editor’s note or even a sticker added to the paper in even the smallest attempt to share the actual current facts.

How lame is that? I mean, really. 

Perhaps it’s all just a publicity stunt. I almost hope so. I hope cost wasn’t their reason for not issuing an update.  I don’t know, but I’m disappointed in my newspaper (The Waco Tribune Herald) which, frankly, I’ve never been thrilled with, that they would pass on such ignorance.

To top it off, contrary to the they way it’s presented on the cover, it’s a very negative article on Bhutto. Can we have a bit of decorum, people?

So, there you go, my rant for the morning.

Did you get this “magazine” in your Sunday paper?

The Comments:

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Well, that’s horrible, but to be fair to the Trib (words I never thought I’d write), it’s not their editorial decision as to what Parade publishes, and the editors at the Trib probably don’t even see Parade before it’s stuck into your Sunday paper. 

I don’t subscribe to a paper.  This is one of many reasons why.

I suppose your right, TIA.

I think my ideological mind woud like to think that someone would have caught it along the way - the guy who opened the box of Parade magazines, the paper stuffer or the paper carrier....or whoever.

The thing is that it’s not just about an opinion that people might not agree with, it’s about actual misinformation on a very hot topic right now. I would hope that in the future the Trib would request an advance copy of Parade…

I’m not sure why this bugged me so much...perhaps because we Americans (myself included) are typically so ignorant about foreign affairs that things like this certainly don’t help.

yes!!! i thought the same thing when i saw this today in the Orlando Sentinel. CRAZY! laziness maybe?

Randel,
Thanks for chiming in. I was beginning to think that perhaps my local newspaper just ran the magazine on accident, but if it ran in your paper as well, then I guess they really did mean to distribute it. I don’t get that…

I’d love to find out what their rationalization was.

In the Houston Chronicle, as well.

UPDATE: Read this article.

An interview with Benazir Bhutto before the former Pakistani prime minister was assassinated was important enough to keep on the cover of Parade magazine, the magazine’s publisher said Sunday — even though the publication had already gone to print when Bhutto was killed.
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The Web version of the story was updated, Siegel said, but it was too late to change the magazine.
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Many newspapers including the Post, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Houston Chronicle ran editor’s notes on the front page or elsewhere explaining that the magazine had gone to press before Bhutto’s death.

Thanks for the update Euphrony. I knew you’d come up with something!

Frankly, though, I have a hard time with this line:

“He (Randy Siegel, Parade editor) said the only option other than running the outdated article would have been asking newspapers not to distribute the magazine at all.”

They had 9 days to come up with something. I don’t quite see how an insert or sticker or something wasn’t a viable option as opposed to misinforming the public. I think not distributing the magazine at all would have been the better option if, in fact, those were their only two choices…

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette included that same Parade magazine, but with a blurb on the front page, above the fold, that the mag was printed before Bhutto’s assassination on December 27.

I agree, Kat.  There were many other options open to them.  they could have easily printed up a single-page flyer and shipped it to papers to be inserted with the Parade Magazine, explaining the situation.  I applaud the papers that addressed this, especially with front page, above the fold notices.  The papers that ignored it - what were they thinking?

I was disappointed to see it in the Tyler paper too.  The tone of the article was pretty bad too. 

I actually read the article while sitting in a hospital waiting room.  After reading it (and finding, as you did, no mention of her death or the postponement of the election) I held it up to the group reading the paper with me and said, “Can you believe they printed this?” which was met with a couple of blank stares and one woman who asked “Who is that anyway?” And then I was more disappointed in the apathy surrounding me then the misprinted article.

Heather,
Perhaps I should subscribe to your local paper...mine didn’t have any sort of update and I’d imagine that there are at least a couple people walking around the city hoping Bhutto is going to be elected.

Euphrony,
Perhaps I’ll write a letter to my editor and find out…

Lisa H,
I imagine that it’s because of editorial decisions like this one that exacerbate responses like the one you received in the waiting room.

I hope all is well with whomever you were waiting for in the hospital…

Wow, that’s terribly embarrassing and irresponsible.  The newspapers definitely could have arranged to have some sort of note appended to the papers.  I don’t subscribe to a paper, so I don’t know if it happened in Jackson, but I wouldn’t be one bit surprised.

I got the same insert in my newspaper here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I thought the same thing, how could someone not have caught that? As wired and connected as our digital world is I can’t believe someone somewhere didn’t send out a e-blast to remove the insert or at least add a disclaimer.

Yet another reason why digital news and media are quickly overtaking older, traditional forms of news sources.

Brad Ruggles
http://www.bradruggles.com

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