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Wanted: Accurate Information
Jayson Blair (formerly of the New York Times,
currently of Esquire magazine) Andrew Gilligan (of the
BBC) and David Dankwa (Gazette Leader) have many
things in common, namely disregard for fact checking,
deliberate distortion of the facts and outright
deception and fabrication. That these men are all
journalists makes it all the more disturbing. After
all, people rely on the media for their news and
expect the truth to be told. Don't count on it with
these three!
The Jayson Blair scandal forced the New York Times to
admit that they had been harboring a liar in their
midst after his inaccuracies and falsehoods became too
numerous to hide. Isn't it interesting that Esquire
magazine had no problem hiring this disgraced
journalist? And the Andrew Gilligan saga is one that
could be very embarrassing for the BBC if it is proven
that this man's news stories were not checked by
anyone and simply accepted as fact.
A little closer
to home is David Dankwa of the Gazette Leader, serving
Hillside and Elizabeth. This managing editor doesn't
bother using a tape recorder for his interviews,
relying instead on his own scribbled shorthand.
Result? People are misquoted constantly because
Dankwa changes the "quotes" to suit his own particular
spin on an article. He also has an abysmal record for
responsible fact checking. In fact, he has never
written a news story without factual errors. But all
of this is unimportant because his version of the
truth is the only one that sees print.
Unfortunately,
the Leader is the only local newspaper in Hillside so
people do read it. Elizabeth residents are lucky that
they have The Elizabeth Reporter if they want to see
what actually happened. The publishers, Worrall
Community Newspapers, are to blame for allowing this
behavior to continue. Complaints have been constant
but all that apparently matters is selling their
newspapers and that's a shame even is you couldn't
technically call it a crime.
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