At 01:34 PM 6/26/01 +0100, Alan Cox wrote:
>It is common for newspaper staff to be corrupt, same with magazine people.
>Sometimes because people generally believe in a cause and are not impartial
>(which I've seen both pro and anti Linux btw) and sometimes because
>advertising
>revenue is a good thing.
Alan, never attribute to conspiracy that which is adequately explained by
stupidity. You would be surprised how often newspaper and magazine
reporters and their editors make gaffs like this with absolutely no intent
of malice, or with the sole malice of wanting to write an article that will
be "interesting" to a large readership while taking insufficient time to
check all the facts.
When I worked at a magazine as a staffer, I was amazed when the
editor-in-chief, in response to complaints about a columnist who "got it
wrong" a lot, said that he kept the columnist on because his mistakes
attracted readership. "He gets TONS of letters, and the readers can't wait
to see how he screws up next!" Again, not by intent, but by incompetence.
For reporters, it's not a matter of "not caring," it's a matter of being
required to knock out 15 articles in one day (not uncommon for a reporter
on a major metropolitan newspaper) and not having to hand references that
are willing to provide answers quickly.
Final comment: Know what a well-adjusted paranoid is? "Hey, they ARE out
to get you, but it's nothing personal."
Satch
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