Saturday, December 31, 2011

Media vs the Rumormongers

The Maven usually finds delight in the missteps of the media and has often been criticized for picking nits and finding fault. Usually. 

Having said that, there are a number of examples of media at their best, informing, teaching, and slaying rumors in their coverage of the Aliahna Lemmon case. 

The work of WOWO's Pat Miller and his trusty producer "Red", who did an amazing job of handling the myriad of wingnuts and dingbats calling their show on Friday. Rude and indignant callers chided Mr. Miller for his attempts to provide truthful information about the case and effors to clear up rumors and lies propagated by the local gossip spreaders. Mr. Miller held his own in dealing with these morons and Ms "Red" surely had her hands full screening disingenuous callers who only wanted to advance their version of the story and to hear themselves on the radio.

Kudos, also to the AWB blog for enterprise reporting and research. AWB has unearthed much of the independent information we now know about the case and the complicated, interwoven relationships of the people involved. It has been credible, and complete and I'm sure there's more to come. The local "establishment" media should take note. You can find AWB here: www.angrywhiteboy.org

Additional thanks to INC, Indiana's Newscenter, for a strategic story that answered many of the questions from the rumor mongers that are finding so much entertainment and comfort in their psuedo-outrage surrounding this case. In countless Facebook conversations, I've seen it asked, over and over again, why law enforcement did not check the freezer which apparently held parts of the body of Aliahna,s body during the initial search of Mr. Plumadore's trailer. This story answers that question specifically and with logic that anyone can follow and understand. You can find that story here: http://bit.ly/vPC5YP

And, finally, recognition to the Allen County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies for their tireless work on this case. While the rumormongers, know-it-alls, and others were second-guessing these men and women, they followed their leads, followed their hearts, and methodically did their jobs.

To all, thanks.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Media Protects Their Friends

The Maven has been around long enough not to expect the media to be fair and honest....there's just too much at stake.
The popular AWB blog has an interesting example:

http://www.angrywhiteboy.org/index.php/2011/12/22/the-journal-gazette-your-home-for-biased-reporting/

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Lazy Media Strikes Again

One of the Media Maven's pet peeves is "Lazy Media". While the Maven whines about this example as being lazy, today's media "professionals" will call it a time-efficient way of getting information to the huddled masses. Either way, it short-changes the media consumer and adds little credibility to the offending media outlet. Sorry, Journal Gazette, this one screams.

Any third-grader can tell that the story below is merely a stenographic regurgitation of a Fort Wayne Fire Department Media Release or fire incident form. There is no "reporting" here, just a listing of "facts" and "insider jargon" (an adult and three children) all referenced back to a "statement" from the fire department.

Apologies to any English majors who are offended by the 4th and 5th grade level paragraphs which appears to give life to the media release.