They knew the story was fake! It only became an issue when the government nailed them. The government knew it was fake because the hunt didn't take place. So the reporter had to be sacrificed.
Posted on 04/17/2005 9:30:18 PM PDT by Grampa Dave
Writer Fabricated Boston Globe Story on Seal Hunt
Fri Apr 15, 6:54 PM ET
By Greg Frost
BOSTON (Reuters) - A Boston Globe freelance writer fabricated large chunks of a story published this week, the newspaper said on Friday in the latest incident to embarrass the U.S. media.
The Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co., said it stopped using writer Barbara Stewart because of a story that ran on Wednesday about a seal hunt off Newfoundland -- a hunt, it turns out, that had not taken place.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia-datelined article described in graphic detail how the seal hunt began on Tuesday, with water turning red as hunters on some 300 boats shot harp seal cubs "by the hundreds."
The problem, however, was that the hunt did not begin on Tuesday; it was delayed by bad weather and was scheduled to start on Friday, weather permitting, the Globe said in an editor's note.
Stewart could not immediately be reached for comment.
The newspaper, which first learned of the problem when the Canadian government called to complain, said in an editor's note it should not have published the story and should have insisted on attribution for details because the writer was not reporting from the scene.
"Details included the number of hunters, a description of the scene, and the approximate age of the cubs. The author's failure to accurately report the status of the hunt and her fabrication of details at the scene are clear violations of the Globe's journalistic standards," the paper said.
'NEVER ASSUME'
Globe Foreign Editor James Smith said that the newspaper knew Stewart was not at the seal hunt and was doing her reporting from Halifax.
"What she told us -- and we did check during the day -- was that she had confirmed with one of the fishermen in the story that it was going ahead," Smith said, adding that in retrospect the paper should have worked harder to clarify this.
"The point is, never assume," he told Reuters.
He added that Globe staffers have since reviewed two other stories Stewart wrote for the paper, but found no inaccuracies or other problems with them.
Canada is extremely sensitive about the hunt, during which hundreds of thousands of seals are beaten to death or shot for their pelts every year. U.S. activists, who says the seals are killed inhumanely, are urging consumers to shun Canadian seafood until the hunt is stopped.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan said his officials had called the paper to point out the error.
"We've been trying to get the facts out about the seal harvest, the fact that the herd is very healthy ... that in 98 percent of cases it (the hunt) is done in a humane way," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Officials with the newspaper were not immediately available for further comment.
U.S. media organizations have been hit with a series of high-profile cases involving plagiarism or fabrication.
In 2003, The New York Times' top two editors, Howell Raines and Gerald Boyd, left the paper after it was disclosed that reporter Jayson Blair had fabricated and plagiarized material.
CBS News, The Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, the New Republic magazine and USA Today have also been caught up in celebrated flaps over inaccurate reporting.
(additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa)
In the old days, the Glob would have hidden its retraction on page 19 of the section after the obits.
In today's world that doesn't work. Reuters, which is one of the biggest bsers re news, was happy to report this as news. Then it went on Yahoo tonight as one of the top 4 breaking stories.
They knew the story was fake! It only became an issue when the government nailed them. The government knew it was fake because the hunt didn't take place. So the reporter had to be sacrificed.
Hey, you see one baby seal bloodfest, you've seen 'em all...
a new target for april 30th
This liar, er, reporterette, apparently never saw a baby seal bloodfest. So her vivid imagination with some chemical help created the baby seal bloodfest.
not to be confused with the fake anectodal happy homosexual stories they publish when attempting to push nomalization of the certain sexual fetishes or abnormalizing marriage.
The phoney baloney stories about how great the homosexual life and family are, appear daily in the left wing fishwraps across America.
They constantly push the homosexual agenda as great, wonderful and normal.
"It appears that the editors sent her out to fake this story from her hotel room..."
Yes, overlooking the fact that she got the MAIN IDEA wrong, how was is she was going to be able to write about "water running red" etc. if she wasn't even there?
These reporters are getting very lazy. If they want to sit around in their pajamas and write they should become honest bloggers.
No surprise here! The Jayson Blair Slimes standards are alive and well in the fish wrapper industry.
The list keeps growing, and at an incredible rate.
The time honored tradition of lying and fabricating news
continues with the Boston Globe and its owner, the NY Slimes.
Writer Fabricated Boston Globe Story on Seal Hunt
Excerpt:
BOSTON (Reuters) - A Boston Globe freelance writer fabricated large chunks of a story published this week, the newspaper said on Friday in the latest incident to embarrass the U.S. media.
The Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co., said it stopped using writer Barbara Stewart because of a story that ran on Wednesday about a seal hunt off Newfoundland -- a hunt, it turns out, that had not taken place.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia-datelined article described in graphic detail how the seal hunt began on Tuesday, with water turning red as hunters on some 300 boats shot harp seal cubs "by the hundreds."
The problem, however, was that the hunt did not begin on Tuesday; it was delayed by bad weather and was scheduled to start on Friday, weather permitting, the Globe said in an editor's note.
Stewart could not immediately be reached for comment.
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.
Thanks for the post and heads up, Grampa. I am SHOCKED! :^O
NOT!Here's another big media LIAR!
"...in the latest incident to embarrass the U.S. [B.S] media..." [... which is why the New Media continues to pass ahead of the Old BS Media.]
Tuesday, Friday, what's the difference? And who needs to actually see something to give an in-depth detailed eye-witness acount slamming people?
Boston Globe alternative masthead suggestions: "We report the news BEFORE it happens!", and "We report the news that SHOULD happen!"
""Baby Seal goes into a bar...bartender says "what'll ya have"...seal says, "Canadian Club, on the rocks..."
You should send that the Glob's editor."
Or Maxxim magazine.
Now that I think about it, is this writer should be a guest of Art Bell. Way below the standards of most bloggers.
"...is this writer should be..."
Er, yes. I still stand by what I say. I'll take typos over shams any day of the week.
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