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Hey, we don’t always get things right in this news business.
For instance, I don’t quite understand why the Lyndsay Lohan saga gets more continuing coverage than the situation in Haiti. But what do I know?
“If this is the ‘Champion Home Grown Barrow’” I asked my neighbors at Thursday evening’s 4-H livestock auction, “Where were these other hogs raised?”
No one had an answer.
“I don’t get it,” I was still kidding. “But there’s a lot of things I don’t know.”
“Sometimes you’re better off that way,” one remarked.
Amen.
But I digress.
This past week’s news episode that began with video clips of a woman speaking to the NAACP that portrayed her as a racist, which resulted in her being fired and even chastised by the White House only to have it subsequently be revealed that the clips were grossly out of context, so much so that she not only was she offered her job back (she’s yet to accept) but got an apology from the White House and a call from the President.
It all started on an Internet site, got picked up by a cable news channel and then the media in general took it from there.
The blogger who originally released it was no amateur journalist. I don’t understand his explanation of why he did it. There are claims that he was set up and other claims that he was trying to set up an embarrassing situation for liberals. I am confused. Don’t get it.
Maybe I am better off that way.
But we (news-folks) really do have scruples.
Al Tompkins is a name unknown to you but is well known in journalism circles. He works for our industry’s main think tank and sends out a daily email called “Al’s Morning Meeting.” It is about some news story that local papers might check into for a local angle, or a heads up about something that reporters might use as a starting point.
Al is big on accountability. Finding responsible stories that affect peoples’ lives; his purpose is to direct those of us out in the trenches towards stories that will interest and be helpful to our readers. And get it right.
This past week he came across an item on these new reusable grocery bags that have become appropriately popular. Seems there’s a danger within.
“According to a joint food safety research report issued by researchers at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, reusable grocery bags can serve as a breeding ground for dangerous foodborne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health.”
But Al tempered that little quote he found with a warning:
“A couple of university studies show that you need to wash reusable grocery bags once in a while. (This makes for an interesting story, but let’s agree not to overdo it by promoting it as “Grocery Bags That Kill,” OK?)” he commented at the beginning of his morning post.
The story is: if meat juices leak from your packages, it could trigger the growth of some pretty nasty bacteria that, if left unchecked could, indeed, possibly, kill.
All you need to do is watch for leaking packages and use your nose. If your reusable bags stink, it might be a good idea to wash them once in a while. No big deal but a good thing to know.
But I couldn’t resist posting the headline he warned against, and I suppose it was necessary to throw in the second part. We’ve got scruples, don’t you know.
by Mark MillerRead this story in our E-Edition, Click Here
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