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Most of these didn't end with lives ruined. With Ryan Lanza, the media corrected the suspect name very quickly. Hatfill got a multimillion dollar settlement fro
by mattmaroon 14y ago
Most of these didn't end with lives ruined. With Ryan Lanza, the media corrected the suspect name very quickly. Hatfill got a multimillion dollar settlement from the government, and Jewell ended up on SNL. In all cases the media did learn they were wrong and publicly admit. Certainly they jumped the gun and caused injury, but they did learn and do the right thing eventually.
- umsm 14y agoThe media learned as in "became informed" but did not learn in the sense that they "improved".
- mattmaroon 14y agoI don't think that's fair to say either. "The media" reports hundreds of names in various capacities every day. Of course they blunder occasionally. You just don't hear about the 99.999% of the time they don't. I don't think they needed to learn anything. They know it's bad to jump the gun. You still see "Dewey Defeats Truman" jokes. They just make mistakes. It's easy to criticize a nameless faceless concept like "the media". Individuals in the media are largely upstanding people trying to do the right thing.
- yekko 14y agoReally? looks like Richard Jewell died a pretty horrible death...
- googletron 14y agonatural causes?
- chc 14y agoYou can't blame "the media" for a man's kidney problems.
- yekko 14y agoHaving your life destroyed and the depression must have added to it.
- brown9-2 14y agoI'm curious how "ended up on SNL" is a reward.
- mattmaroon 14y agoHe got to punch someone dressed up as Janet Reno on national TV!
- imgabe 14y agoI'm sure he was not forced to be on SNL, but was offered the opportunity and accepted it. Some people would like to be on TV.