Bad reporting, worse editing...

Gato_Solo

Gato_Solo

Out-freaking-standing OTC member
I'm not sure how many folks in here will grasp what I'm driving at, but this story has great merit. The problem lies in how it was written. Guess this shows that educated is not always intelligent.

BREA, Calif. — Five people were found dead, three of them children, in what appeared to be a murder-suicide in a home near the Richard Nixon Library in Orange County, police said Sunday.

A 14-year-old boy called 911 about 11 p.m. Saturday to report that his father had shot him and his brother at their condominium, said Brea police Sgt. Peter Rodriguez. The teenager was transported to a local hospital and was in stable condition, Rodriguez said.

"It is an extreme shock to this community," Rodriguez told radio station KNX. "We're all taking this very hard."

Police responding to the call found the body of a woman on the doorstep. Inside were the bodies of a 5-year-old boy and two girls, ages 8 and 9. Officers also found the body of a man with a shotgun beneath him.

Police did not immediately know the motive for the shootings or the relationship of the victims. Their names were not released pending notification of family.

The violence occurred in a bedroom community 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles across the street from the Richard Nixon Library. A call to the library was not immediately returned Sunday.
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The whole story here. See if you can spot the problem in the piece.
 
Everything looks fine except the dateline is Brea but the Nixon Library is in Yorba Linda. The Brea PD also patrols Yorba Linda (neighboring cities), so it's easy to see how that mistake could be made since the officer likely identified himself as with the Brea PD.

LA Times
 
Inkara1 said:
Everything looks fine except the dateline is Brea but the Nixon Library is in Yorba Linda. The Brea PD also patrols Yorba Linda (neighboring cities), so it's easy to see how that mistake could be made since the officer likely identified himself as with the Brea PD.

LA Times
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Not quite...You almost had it, though. ;)
 
the boy was 14, then he is 9?
and he has a brother, or sisters?

my guess is the 14 yr old was there with all the others, but said nothing
of the girls.
 
14-year-old boy = survivor. Woman = one dead person. 5-year-old boy = brother, and second dead person. Girls ages 8 and 9 = two more dead people, for a total of four. Man with shotgun under him = fifth dead person. It's likely that the 14-year-old (survivor) and the 5-year-old boy were the first two shot, and the others were shot between the initial 911 call and authorities' arrival.

If you're saying that bringing Nixon into this is politicizing it... the library is a pretty big landmark that helps readers know the general area this happened in. A look at the Google satellite image shows that there are, in fact, what could be apartments or condos across the street from the library.
 
Gato_Solo said:
Guess this shows that educated is not always intelligent.
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this doesn't show shit in that respect. what, you're expecting something smart from someone that has a BA...? in... journalism?

hmmmm maybe the real problem here is that they're not looking hard enough at the survivor as a suspect or explaining why they aren't... child from a previous marriage, at the "angry young man" age, et cetera... strange he doesn't make the "victims" list further down the page?
 
2minkey said:
this doesn't show shit in that respect. what, you're expecting something smart from someone that has a BA...? in... journalism?
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Thanks for the compliment... I'll be sure to keep it in mind for later use.

hmmmm maybe the real problem here is that they're not looking hard enough at the survivor as a suspect or explaining why they aren't... child from a previous marriage, at the "angry young man" age, et cetera... strange he doesn't make the "victims" list further down the page?
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Later stories have stated that the authorities do want to talk to the boy, who was still sedated last I checked because of a gunshot wound to the torso. The story Gato posted was an early story, with not a whole lot of facts known. The boy wasn't listed in the "victims" list later in the story because what happened to him (transported to the hospital) had already been discussed, thus making repeating it redundant. Newer stories have more information as it has been learned. In cases like this, you generally don't learn every detail in a couple of hours. If you click Gato's link now, you'll notice that the story has been updated.
 
Inkara1 said:
Thanks for the compliment... I'll be sure to keep it in mind for later use.
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so, you have a BA in journalism, then? don't fret, a BA in sociology is FAR WORSE.

sorry if i've offended, i've just known a lot people that act all edumacated and wordly because they have a BA in a liberal arts discipline, and often they can't write or think for shit.

like this chick i knew that was finishing an english degree. she showed me her final paper for proofreading. i found so many errors on the first page, i simply did not what to do. i handed it back to her and said "looks great, good luck!" she graduated.
 
I've had to correct stories written by other journalism majors. I know what their writing is like. :sick3: Whenever I see "where" in place of "were" or "loose" in place of "lose," I not only put a correcting mark, but also draw a skull and crossbones right there on the page.
 
Okay. I'll let you know exactly what I was talking about...

A call to the library was not immediately returned Sunday.
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Just a couple of glaring errors.

1. Libraries are not usually open on Sundays. They may be open in California, but I've yet to see one with those hours.
2. The murder-suicide took place across the street. Wouldn't calling the neighbors in the condominium complex, or the police department, be a better idea?
 
Gato_Solo said:
Okay. I'll let you know exactly what I was talking about...




Just a couple of glaring errors.

1. Libraries are not usually open on Sundays. They may be open in California, but I've yet to see one with those hours.
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OMG dude you have got to be kidding. you posted this about a library not being open on sunday?

there's lots of libraries open on sunday, in any case.

so that's the big secret, huh?

i feel so cheated, let down, and disappointed. and as an excessively litigious american moron, i'd be thinking i should sue your ass for wasting my time... if i weren't so good at wasting it myself.
 
2minkey said:
OMG dude you have got to be kidding. you posted this about a library not being open on sunday?

there's lots of libraries open on sunday, in any case.

so that's the big secret, huh?

i feel so cheated, let down, and disappointed. and as an excessively litigious american moron, i'd be thinking i should sue your ass for wasting my time... if i weren't so good at wasting it myself.
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Like I said. I've never seen one. Also, my second point works as well...Calling a library with questons about a murder outside the building grounds is like calling a brain surgeon about your dog's dew claws. You may get answers, but they'll, most likely, be wrong.
 
Gato_Solo said:
Never said that. You're in rare form today with taking stuff out of context, aintcha. ;)

Then why the RICO act? :p
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yeah i'm extra bitchy because i've had the same headache for four days. i've had about 2400 milligrams of ibuprofen over the past 24 hours. so i just washed down a couple of vicodins with a martini, and it's barely taking the edge off.
 
Gato_Solo said:
Just a couple of glaring errors.

1. Libraries are not usually open on Sundays. They may be open in California, but I've yet to see one with those hours.
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My local library is certainly open on Sundays.

2. The murder-suicide took place across the street. Wouldn't calling the neighbors in the condominium complex, or the police department, be a better idea?
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Calling anyone with info would be a good idea.
 
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