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After having learned of Leah Salterios perhaps egregious mistake concerning the Art Bell Filipino letter hoax, I didn't know who to feel more sorry for, Art Bell or her. Her error may represent journalism at its worst but I wonder how many angry Coast to Coast listeners would have taken the time to investigate that claim had they read it in the entertainment section NOT knowing what Art Bell is about.
Most of us take for granted that the news we receive is well researched and at least loosely based on fact, and while people tongue wag about believing none of what they hear, the vast majority accept most of what comes down the pipe. In fact, this attitude it so pervasive that the other night, while I was sitting in a local movie theatre watching the previews, one came on for a comedy about a man who received transplanted animal organs in a bid to save his life, and the person behind me tapped their companion on the shoulder and eagerly whispered "My God, is this true?"
I've worked as a writer in a major market news room, as well as in other places, and one of the things I've learned rather quickly is that, while the information is usually sound, it doesn't take long for a hoax to become a full blown international prank.
Oh yeah, she may have made a stupid mistake all right (I say MAY because I haven't personally read the article), and even a cursory examination of the facts could have saved her from this potentially career damaging folly (didn't anyone vet the material?). People should take this time to ask themselves though, just how much of the responsibility for accuracy falls to the journalist, and how much of it falls to the reader? Contrary to paranoid belief, most journalists are simply trying to deliver the facts, but they're as fallible as their audience. They're as susceptible to manipulation via their personal biases and as subject to mistakes and judgment errors as everyone else. This isn't a bid to excuse her - for baseless, unresearched slander, there really is no excuse - but to point out that the letter writers who bashed Art Bell after having read that column are every bit as irresponsible.
Caveat Emptor, people - buyer beware.
A. Hopfe, Canada
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