3 ms·

I imagine the Herald doesn't believe that the NTSB (or any authority) necessarily has the canonical and final word on things, and thus the Herald sees itself as

by danso 8y ago

I imagine the Herald doesn't believe that the NTSB (or any authority) necessarily has the canonical and final word on things, and thus the Herald sees itself as providing an independent viewpoint/assessment. One of the undercurrent themes of this story is that, according to the herald, the construction company and FIU officials are well-connected politically. Possibly related to this is the fact that the Herald is suing the state for records related to the bridge [0]. These records were determined to be public but have so far been withheld from public release. [0] http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/article212489364.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/article212489364.html

JauntyHatAngle 8y ago
So the prevailing thought is that the NTSB is delaying the documents to protect FIU officials, and not to prevent undue influence of the public before the release of the report? It certainly doesn't look good from this quoted paragraph... "Public records made and received by the Department from February 20 until the bridge collapsed on March 15 obviously were not obtained by the Department during an investigation because there had been no accident, much less an investigation into an accident,'' he wrote in a response to the FDOT motion to dismiss the lawsuit. "Florida law is clear that if an agency’s record is a public record at the time it is made or received, then that document does not lose its character as a public record if the document is later given to an investigative agency in the course of a subsequently initiated investigation." Still could be to prevent a public outcry before the facts are in, but that does seem mighty fishy...
- ajdlinux 8y ago
  > So the prevailing thought is that the NTSB is delaying the documents to protect FIU officials, and not to prevent undue influence of the public before the release of the report? I'd suggest that it's not an issue of bad faith regarding the NTSB, but rather that the NTSB doesn't (and shouldn't!) care about the political fallout from this, whereas a newspaper very much has an interest in uncovering the political side of this.
mcguire 8y ago
Plus, splashy articles now get more reads than articles written when the official investigation is complete and everyone is reporting it. And speculation now makes all the readers feel like insiders.

by danso 8y ago

JauntyHatAngle 8y ago

So the prevailing thought is that the NTSB is delaying the documents to protect FIU officials, and not to prevent undue influence of the public before the release of the report? It certainly doesn't look good from this quoted paragraph... "Public records made and received by the Department from February 20 until the bridge collapsed on March 15 obviously were not obtained by the Department during an investigation because there had been no accident, much less an investigation into an accident,'' he wrote in a response to the FDOT motion to dismiss the lawsuit. "Florida law is clear that if an agency’s record is a public record at the time it is made or received, then that document does not lose its character as a public record if the document is later given to an investigative agency in the course of a subsequently initiated investigation." Still could be to prevent a public outcry before the facts are in, but that does seem mighty fishy...

ajdlinux 8y ago
> So the prevailing thought is that the NTSB is delaying the documents to protect FIU officials, and not to prevent undue influence of the public before the release of the report? I'd suggest that it's not an issue of bad faith regarding the NTSB, but rather that the NTSB doesn't (and shouldn't!) care about the political fallout from this, whereas a newspaper very much has an interest in uncovering the political side of this.

mcguire 8y ago

Plus, splashy articles now get more reads than articles written when the official investigation is complete and everyone is reporting it. And speculation now makes all the readers feel like insiders.