The Press & Sun-Bulletin Presents Fiction as Fact
By Jim Willis on Apr 13, 2008 in Society & Culture | Printable Version
When writing posts for RSSBinghamton.com I often quote from articles printed in our local paper, the Press & Sun-Bulletin, because it’s one of the best sources of local news. It’s a liberal publication, no doubt about that. But then, aren’t most newspapers? Especially those that are part of large newspaper chains like Gannett, which owns the P&SB. Even though there’s a pronounced leftward tilt in the P&SB’s coverage of the news, you still expect the stories you read to at least get the basic facts correct, right? Such is not the case with the P&SB.
It seems the Press & Sun-Bulletin is now in the news manufacturing business. Hey, it’s a whole lot easier to “make it up” than go out and beat the bushes the hard way for a story. What am I talking about? In today’s issue (Sunday, April 13th), there is a story on page 10A titled, “Districts begin to consider response to societal changes.” I would link to the article but either the P&SB has pulled it from their website or they didn’t post it in the first place. The article is about how society is changing and school districts are also changing to cope…changing things like dress codes, codes of conduct for students and teachers, etc. The article is your standard “evergreen” story–a story they can run whenever they need to fill space. It’s not “breaking news” and it’s not timed to anything in particular.
The article itself is fine–if you can believe anything in it. Why am I suspicious? Above the article is a picture that goes with the article. It’s a picture of Cedarhurst Elementary School (you can see the name on the building) with a line of students standing in front of it. The caption reads:
Students at Cedarhurst Elementary School in Kirkwood wait for their bus at the end of the school day. Like every school in New York, Cedarhurst has a code of conduct, which includes ways to protect students from bullying, regulate clothing worn to class and punish those who violate the rules.
Here’s the problem with the picture and the caption: Cedarhurst Elementary School has been closed for two years! When you read the caption, you assume the author has spoken to the principal of the school to verify this important information. How else can you make categorical statements about how Cedarhurst currently has a code of conduct in place to control student behavior. Nope. There’s no principal of Cedarhurst to talk to, and no students to obey the rules–because Cedarhurst sits empty and has been empty since the last bell rang in June 2006. The only conclusion one can reach is that it’s all made up–fiction. The people at the P&SB quickly needed a picture to run with the article, so they pulled one from their files (several years old), and proceeded to make up the “facts” that fit the narrative of the story.
Are there no fact-checkers at the P&SB? Is everyone asleep at the switch over there? Where’s that blow-hard David Rossie when you need him?
Moral of the story: The P&SB tilts left…but now just like the New York Times, the New Republic and other liberal rags, they’re cutting corners and manufacturing the news. It’s not surprising, but it is sad.
Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Press & Sun-Bulletin, journalistic fraud
Justin | Apr 14, 2008 | Reply
Jim, great observations on this article. Annie and I were both scratching our heads yesterday when we saw the article’s photo and caption, wondering if perhaps our eyes were playing tricks on us. The article seemed awful vague, and the file photo and caption seem to confirm your theory. Perhaps the weekend editor is still training?!!
It has always peaked my curiosity when papers attempt to create their own news - as if there was a worldwide shortage! I have been after the P&SB to expand their national news for over a year now. I was promised the typical one page national news would increase, but Sundays are the only time I consistently see more.
As a side note - as a former Buffalo News carrier and avid reader for over a decade, I have been pleasantly surprised by the liberal/conservative balance of news and editorials. This is of course relative, but in comparison to the Buffalo News, the P&SB is a conservative puppet (slight exaggeration)!
Jim Willis | Apr 14, 2008 | Reply
Excellent points Justin. Thanks for posting! I’ll take your word that the P&SB is more balanced than some of the alternatives in Upstate. My own opinion about their leftward tilt comes from reading the P&SB editorial writers, which are usually very left of center. However, as with all things, there are exceptions. My concern is that there is not only a built-in left bias, but also sloppiness at the P&SB. If you can’t believe the basic facts about a story, what can you believe?