Media Prewriting Stories. What's that about?

RightWinged.com ^ | 01-10-06 | Randy @ RightWinged.com

[rabair]

Being a new blog, I wasn't able to get much reaction on this, so I'm taking it to you guys... what do you all think about the media prewriting stuff? I mean, it's not the usual liberal media garbage, it's just lazy or something. I don't know what drove them to do this, but it's not the first time I've seen it.

Instead of retyping the whole post, check it out here: Alito Heads for Senate Hearings... Apparently After a VERY Early Breakfast?

Makes you sort of wonder about things... like what if news "changed"? I mean they wrote the article what, like 5 or 6 hours early? Often times these types of articles just get slightly modified throughout the day, and you'll see them out on the wires with just a paragraph added or missing. Again, not liberal media in this example, but how can we be confident in our media when they are writing the story well before it happens?

[ricardobaltazar]

[prisoner6]

It isn't that big of a deal, at least for most stuff. In radio news I write a lot of stuff fairly early just to get a jump on things. Some stuff, like obits obviously, can be written pretty acurately and fairly well in advance. Other articles are more difficult but if you have a general idea of what is happening you can write a lot nad leave blanks for details. When it gets close to air time you might have to do a minor rewrite but it does help you make deadlines.

Now all of the above applies to fairly minor stories and not MSM kinda stuff. A lot iof the MSM stories are written in advance because they have an agenda and the agenda part its written first, the details filled in - or ignored as the case may be - just before airing.

Of course I have an agenda as well...conservative, hehehe...and write most of my stories from that. I did one last week whiel I was filling in on the air. Wrote a story about the dems having to deal with the ABA endorsing Alito. Mentioned that was gonna be a big hurlde for them to get around. Also mentioned that while the possibility of a filibuster seemed to be fading, several dems on the judiciary committee were tlaking about holding up the vote for a week...just because they could.

I don't have the story at hand but the last line included me mentioning the dems holding up a vote...just because they could. Made them sound obstructionist, not willing to work with the pubbies on the hearings. I got a lot of angry calls from dems about that...like I could care.

In any case I wrote a lot of that story well in advance...first in my head on the way to work, later hours before airing.

At least I'm up front about my conservative agenda though.

prisoner6

[WoofDog123]

i imagine this was written far more than 6 hours before the alleged event. Blatant fabrication of supporting or human-interest details is the rule, not the exception. Occasionally an obituary will get run prematurely, and it will contain 'details' of the circumstances of the persons demise, who was there, etc.

The media lie, fabricate and distort without conscience.

[Dan Nunn]

Remember the article and tribute on CNN's website about the death of Reagan long before it happened?

[rabair]

Yeah, I can see that, and I wouldn't hold what you're doing to the same standard though prisoner6... You aren't the AP wires, you know? Arguably the most powerful news organization on the planet is putting out stories many hours before they even happen is what is disturbing. Of course this wasn't anything big, talking about a White House Breakfast... maybe the writer wanted to catch some Zs so he chucked it out there early... but the implications that come with this is what bothered me. Most of our news comes from the AP wires, and these guys already have enough credibility problems without prewriting their stories. So again, it was more the practice that is concerning than this specific instance. This just allowed me to make the joke that Alito and Bush had breakfast in the middle of the night, etc... and then the opportunity to photoshop Bush sleeping while Seinfeld is on.

[rabair]

excellent memory Dan Nunn, I do remember that now.. I know I had seen plenty of examples of this in the past.

[Robert A Cook PE]

But, the "news" stories about the VFW Convention speeches in 2004 in Vegas WERE written BEFORE the speeches (by Kerry in particular!) were ever given.

Thus, the AP and other "news" writers IGNORED the many hundred VFW vets who walked out on Kerry, stood and turned their backs, boo'ed him, and rousing gave him a "bad" time.

BUT, because the "press release" (written before the speech ever occurred) "news story" IGNORED all of that , the REST of the country did NOT hear the real story.

[R. Scott]

Thus, the AP and other "news" writers IGNORED the many hundred VFW vets who walked out on Kerry, stood and turned their backs, boo'ed him, and rousing gave him a "bad" time.

Would they have included this even if the story were written after the event?

[Gabz]

But you also have to understand - much of what comes across the AP wire is writnen by folks like prisoner6, and me back when I was in radio news. AP and the rest of the wire services rely very heavily upon their subscribers (print or electronic) for most of their content.

[Grut]

The function of journalism is to produce entertaining filler to go between the ads. Whether or not it's 'true' isn't really important but it's usually less work to report what happened, or what somebody else's press release says happened, than it is to make things up out of the whole cloth.

[SubMareener]

Sure, the media pre-write stories! It is called "meeting the deadline"! BUT, they are very nervous until the story they write comes true! ;-) P.S. This is not idle speculation, but reporting from my own source in the media who wishes to remain anonymous.

[rabair]

excellent example of why I think this is a problem Robert A. Cook, PE... thanks.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Unfortunately, they do write stories beforehand.

Case in point. Two years ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning WON the Stanley Cup. But the Tampa Tribune, in its next day editions, congratulated the Lightning on a wonderful season, even though they LOST in the Stanley Cup's seventh game! Wrongo! They published the wrong story! Their explanation was, we always write two stories to cover the two different scenarios. Now, that's good reporting! Not!

[LiberationIT]

Uber Liberal Mitch Albom got caught up in this last year.

Snip from the May 17, 2005 Detroit Free Press;

The investigation was prompted by an April 3 column in which Albom reported that former Michigan State players Mateen Cleaves and Jason Richardson attended the April 2 Michigan State-North Carolina NCAA basketball game. In fact, neither was at the game. Albom wrote the column before the game took place, as if the events already had happened, based on what the players had told him they planned to do.

Google up Albom and Scandal if you wish to read more.

[TomGuy]

Journalists do allot of that. They aren't out chasing news 24/7. During the slack time or when they anticipate a typical event, they write out what they anticipate will develop.

It isn't all that different than prognostications in Live Threads on FR that open hours before the 'event'. Many early posters post what they anticipate will happen.

Media news and newspapers have, for ages, had the pre-written files containing bio's of various well-known persons, for unexpected deaths, etc.

IIRC, during the announcement of Bob Hope's death, for example, CNN ran an obit of Phyllis Diller. Ironically, Phyllis laughed about it, as she was being interview, alive, on another network. MSM has, numerous times, slipped up and posted/published obits for still-living persons.

They pre-write during slack times, so they can rush to press when the event actually happens. Watch the AP Breaking News website. Many times, they will have posted articles about events, written as if the event is in process or concluded. Sometimes they have to post a retraction, but not times, of errors, they just simply issued an update.

After all, the important this is this: It is fake, but accurate.

[TomGuy]

the important this thing is this

Proof tice, post once.
Proof tice twice, post once.

More coffie. It's early.

[capt. norm]

You and I are on the same wavelength. The Trib story about Dewey winning was the first thing that came to mind.

Liberals and media elite never learn from their mistakes.

[coloradan]

I think it would help you understand things if you considered that the MSM is not a news organization, but an enemy propaganda encampment. Propaganda can be written at any time, and held for release until it can do the most damage. (Consider the NYT sitting on the NSA story for 1 year, until right before the PATRIOT act vote.)