Jump to content

Horrible News Article

M-T-P

By M-T-P,
in General geocaching topics

Followers 2

Recommended Posts

t4e

+t4e

Posted
Posted

come on cut the reporter some slack, its in Waco, maybe he lived through the siege back in 1993

 

don't take it the wrong way, but somehow i'm not surprised such article originates in USA, i think people have been inflicted with fear and doubts regarding anything that even remotely has potential for a security threat, and that can be an excuse for being suspicious about certain activities

 

but there is no excuse for being ignorant and writing such crap without educating yourself

 

in Canada, more specifically in Kitchener-Waterloo, where i live, we had the most wonderful newscast on TV about geocaching, was featured in the Weekly Newsletter from Groundspeak

 

i gave it 1 star

Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

I just e-mailed the "journalist" who wrote this article and asked if she'd like to accompany me on my caching adventure in Iowa this weekend.

 

Think I'll get a response? :)

 

I doubt she will but you can hope. I read in one of the responses that she was hot.

 

Now if a hot journalist ever posts a stupid story about geocaching near me....

 

Yeah, I'd take her out caching.

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted (edited)

I was unable to watch the video earlier today, but I just checked it out, and my opinion now is that the LEO's comments were almost certainly taken out of context, if not deliberately led by the reporter. His tone almost implies that he wanted to say something more along the lines of, "well, yeah, I suppose that theoretically it could be dangerous..." :) and the reporter just clipped the portion that made her preconceived point. I suspect that he was probably nowhere near as concerned about the safety aspects of caching than it seemed.

 

It also was not made entirely clear that the ammo can cache that they show her finding (which, I presume, was also the one they ended the show with by showing the cache page) was not one of the two "illegal" caches found in the parking lot that they showed.

Edited by knowschad
Link to comment
murph6531

+murph6531

Posted
Posted

This article was written by a young buck, or doe in this case, reporter who was probably scrounging for something to write about. I put more blame on the editor who let it be published. I'm sure after the tongue lashing she is recieving from the readers she will have learned a valuable lesson.

Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

I was unable to watch the video earlier today, but I just checked it out, and my opinion now is that the LEO's comments were almost certainly taken out of context, if not deliberately led by the reporter. His tone almost implies that he wanted to say something more along the lines of, "well, yeah, I suppose that theoretically it could be dangerous..." :) and the reporter just clipped the portion that made her preconceived point. I suspect that he was probably nowhere near as concerned about the safety aspects of caching than it seemed.

 

It also was not made entirely clear that the ammo can cache that they show her finding (which, I presume, was also the one they ended the show with by showing the cache page) was not one of the two "illegal" caches found in the parking lot that they showed.

 

I just watched the video. Boy, she was struggling to make geocaching sound evil, wasn't she. Her end line of "I asked the sherriff if...." and the way she emphasized "Not of as right now" was alarmist at its best.

 

She was trying to imply that it's a danger and just a matter of time before geocaching gets blamed for something awful.

 

I think Groundspeak should be giving them a call. It's really bad PR.

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

I was unable to watch the video earlier today, but I just checked it out, and my opinion now is that the LEO's comments were almost certainly taken out of context, if not deliberately led by the reporter. His tone almost implies that he wanted to say something more along the lines of, "well, yeah, I suppose that theoretically it could be dangerous..." :) and the reporter just clipped the portion that made her preconceived point. I suspect that he was probably nowhere near as concerned about the safety aspects of caching than it seemed.

 

It also was not made entirely clear that the ammo can cache that they show her finding (which, I presume, was also the one they ended the show with by showing the cache page) was not one of the two "illegal" caches found in the parking lot that they showed.

 

I just watched the video. Boy, she was struggling to make geocaching sound evil, wasn't she. Her end line of "I asked the sherriff if...." and the way she emphasized "Not of as right now" was alarmist at its best.

 

She was trying to imply that it's a danger and just a matter of time before geocaching gets blamed for something awful.

 

I think Groundspeak should be giving them a call. It's really bad PR.

Do you think we should let her know about the bomb scares?
Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

Do you think we should let her know about the bomb scares?

 

As said earlier by someone else. I would bet that she knows about the bomb scare and the cacher arrested and this (ahem) news segment is related.

 

I want to see her find something about geocaching that wasn't alarmist.

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

Do you think we should let her know about the bomb scares?

As said earlier by someone else. I would bet that she knows about the bomb scare and the cacher arrested and this (ahem) news segment is related.

I want to see her find something about geocaching that wasn't alarmist.

Ahhhh.... I see. Hamster caching.
Link to comment
jeffbouldin

+jeffbouldin

Posted
Posted

I was unable to watch the video earlier today, but I just checked it out, and my opinion now is that the LEO's comments were almost certainly taken out of context, if not deliberately led by the reporter. His tone almost implies that he wanted to say something more along the lines of, "well, yeah, I suppose that theoretically it could be dangerous..." :) and the reporter just clipped the portion that made her preconceived point. I suspect that he was probably nowhere near as concerned about the safety aspects of caching than it seemed.

 

It also was not made entirely clear that the ammo can cache that they show her finding (which, I presume, was also the one they ended the show with by showing the cache page) was not one of the two "illegal" caches found in the parking lot that they showed.

 

This was my first thought when I watched it. I would love to find out what he really said before editing. Somebody call and ask him.

Link to comment
M-T-P

+M-T-P

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've been using my blog to call out journalists for writing terrible articles about geocaching for a while now. Some of them have actually done follow-up stories as a result.

 

Got any links to the articles and follow-ups? I'd love to see how they compare.

Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

One-star vote and comment made.

 

FWIW, this strongly reminds me of a spoof article I once read concerning the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. Here's a website on the subject that makes pure water seem like something evil and illustrates how journalists can vilify anything by twisting facts.

 

Geoff

 

Hey now. We had a dihydrogen monoxide spill here a while back and it polluted our drinking wells.

 

The government tried to make it sound like it was no big deal too.

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

One-star vote and comment made.

FWIW, this strongly reminds me of a spoof article I once read concerning the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. Here's a website on the subject that makes pure water seem like something evil and illustrates how journalists can vilify anything by twisting facts.

Geoff

Hey now. We had a dihydrogen monoxide spill here a while back and it polluted our drinking wells.

The government tried to make it sound like it was no big deal too.

And we can all see what effect THAT had! Scary stuff, indeed! ;)
Link to comment
sseegars

+sseegars

Posted
Posted

Loren,

 

I am not writing you to slam you about your recent piece on geocaching. I only ask that you go on geocaching.com and find one of the geocachers in your area with experience and do an unbiased piece on the sport. Yes, if golf is a sport, then so is geocaching. You might be surprised to find that we are a very open, friendly community of people who practice CITO (Cache In Trash Out) hold events, help within our communities on social projects, volunteer our personal time for the betterment of the environment.

 

Give it a try!

 

Scott

 

RESPONSE!

 

Morning Scott,

 

My story was to inform people about what to be aware of when geocaching. I

wasn't trying to make the fun game look like a dangerous one. I went with

a couple of geocachers to play and think it's a great outdoor activity!

 

I appreciate your e-mail.

 

Have a wonderful weekend-

 

Loren

 

Loren Korn

News Channel 25

Anchor/Reporter

Link to comment
Gitchee-Gummee

+Gitchee-Gummee

Posted
Posted

Fairly typical of media editing...

 

Do a story about something, and many parts are left on the editing room floor (like all of the good info that the phantom "couple of geocachers" may have said)!

 

If you haven't noticed, I have little faith in media presenting accurate reporting.

 

No offense intended to media personnel, it seems to be the beast of news reporting (rather, news writing). ;)

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

Apparently Loren needs to work on doing a better job of putting her intentions into the story, then, judging by the response that story got. Nice of her to respond, but she seems to be denying any culpability in that reply.

 

 

Why would she think that "sickos" putting things in caches is "something to be aware of", anyway? That exposed root on the trail ahead of you is much more important to be aware of than some potentially dangerous thing "some sicko" put into a cache!

Link to comment
narcissa

+narcissa

Posted
Posted

I've been using my blog to call out journalists for writing terrible articles about geocaching for a while now. Some of them have actually done follow-up stories as a result.

 

Got any links to the articles and follow-ups? I'd love to see how they compare.

 

If you go to this link, you'll see a list of items I've tagged with "geocaching in the news."

 

One of the more contentious things I've commented on in the past also happened to be in Texas:

 

http://geonarcissa.wordpress.com/2009/06/1...ckles-in-texas/

 

http://geonarcissa.wordpress.com/2009/06/1...aching-article/

 

http://geonarcissa.wordpress.com/2009/06/1...meteries-again/

 

http://geonarcissa.wordpress.com/2009/06/2...-no-they-didnt/

Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

I see someone else received the canned response that I received when writing to Loren Korn.

 

In the interest of fairness i will include my Email to her.

 

Dear Loren Korn

 

Recently you published an article and video on the subject of geocaching. I would like to take this opportunity to present a video from a different perspective. Please take a few minutes to view this video http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=...8576&ref=mf to see what geocaching is really about.

 

Geocaching s a light, fun, activity that is enjoyed by people from all walks of life. It is a very fun activity for families, teens, retired folk, people who just want to get out of the house, handicapped individuals, etc. Geocaching is comprised of people from age 3 to age 100. The younger and oldest cachers, of course, cache with the help of others but they do geocache and they do find caches.

 

Many individuals from law enforcement are geocachers. Many parks welcome geocaching, and a few do not. Geocaching is hardly the dangerous and destructive hobby that your article made it out to be.

 

Most geocachers are environmentally conscious and do their best to “leave no trace” but with all walks of life, there are a few who disregard this motto. When other cachers see destruction, many times they will do their best to make repairs or take steps to have the cache removed from a sensitive area. Many of us practice CITO which stands for Cache in, Trash out. I, myself have removed a dozen or so bags of garbage from the wilderness while looking for caches.

 

Geocaching, itself, is no more dangerous than any other reason for leaving your home. Yes, people have been injured or even died while geocaching but not because of it. Personally, I have been more injured when I wasn’t geocaching but just exploring the wilderness. Some of us even geocache at night and feel it’s no more dangerous than walking to the grocery store.

 

I could go on and on but my point is that you misrepresented geocaching and I hope you take a step back to see what this activity is really about. It’s about fun, family, activity, respect and trust. It’s not a deviant society hell bent on breaking all the rules, despite what you may have seen on television. Geocaching is fun for all.

 

I would also like to add that there are hundreds of geocachers near you that would love to have the opportunity to show you what geocaching really is. If you wished, they would take you around for a few caching adventures. All you would need to do is say the word.

 

Again, please take a moment to watch the video. While it’s made by Austrailians, it pretty much demonstrates geocaching everywhere.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Geocacher

Though I may have given my opinion of geocaching and addressed only the positives, I was trying to make a point.

 

Her reply

Dear xxxxx

 

My story was to inform people about what to be aware of when geocaching. I wasn't trying to make the fun game look like a dangerous one. I've played before and think it's a great outdoor activity!

 

I appreciate your e-mail. I apologize for any inconvenience.

 

Have a wonderful weekend-

 

Loren Korn

 

At east she apologized ;)

Link to comment
knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted (edited)

I appreciate your e-mail. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Have a wonderful weekend-

Loren Korn

At east she apologized ;)

Yeah.. for any inconvenience. Not for the content (or lack thereof) of her report.

 

I have to wonder if her station manager is aware of the comments on the web page.

Edited by knowschad
Link to comment
bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

I appreciate your e-mail. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Have a wonderful weekend-

Loren Korn

At east she apologized ;)

Yeah.. for any inconvenience. Not for the content (or lack thereof) of her report.

 

I have to wonder if her station manager is aware of the comments on the web page.

 

They probably are.

 

I'm thinking of writing the producer of the news there with a similar email.

That wasn't "reporting" and makes one question the "news" they report.

Link to comment
Renegade Knight

+Renegade Knight

Posted
Posted

2) Finding a cache that was placed on private property without permission is not a crime. It could become one if the property owner chose to press charges, and even then only if a judge upheld the conviction. And what was that part about "vandalism"?

 

That's sort of like saying "robbing a bank is only a crime if I get caught". ;) (My turn to use hyperbole!)...

 

It would be closer to saying. "if you take a penny out of a cache at a bank and don't trade, you have robbed the bank".

 

Tresspassing is not automatic like theft. Permission is generally presumed in all publicly assessable locations Unless Posted Otherwise. There are a lot of reasons for that.

Link to comment
Mr.Yuck

Mr.Yuck

Posted
Posted
Loren is very excited to call Waco her new home! In her free time, Loren enjoys traveling, exercising, searching for unique coffee shops and eating Thai food.

 

Sounds like she should be interested in Geocaching, not Bashing it. That's from her Bio at the stations site.

 

She's in Waco. She's on a UHF station. 'Nuff said. :lostsignal:

Link to comment
GeoGeeBee

+GeoGeeBee

Posted
Posted
Loren is very excited to call Waco her new home! In her free time, Loren enjoys traveling, exercising, searching for unique coffee shops and eating Thai food.

 

Sounds like she should be interested in Geocaching, not Bashing it. That's from her Bio at the stations site.

 

She's in Waco. She's on a UHF station. 'Nuff said. :lostsignal:

 

We're* all** UHF stations now***.

 

 

*I work for a TV station.

 

**Except for a handful of ABC affiliates, many of whom are regretting their decision to move their digital transmissions to the VHF band.

 

***Since the transition to Digital Television.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
Followers 2
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...