Thursday, April 25, 2013
JUST THE FACTS
We heard a lot about the stampede for scoops last week. We also heard our President suggest that people wait for the facts.
Well, here they are. And they are a lot different, sometimes crucially from what we heard. The great thing about traditional newspapers is that they come behind the elephants and sweep up. Neatly and cleanly. When they are gone, what will we do?
Officer's Killing Spurred Pursuit in Boston Attack
This is a 'tick-tock", carefully compiled days after the events.
Some things that we did not know before.
They killed the MIT policeman to get his gun. They only had one gun, the older brother's. They did not succeed in getting the officer's. It had a triple lock holster and they couldn't figure it out.
This fruitless act called attention and started their run for escape.
The story about the Mercedes guy, still anonymous, is more hair raising than we thought. The guy in the Mobil store, obviously an Arab, saved the day. His story is here.
There was no robbery of a 7-11.
When cornered, they still only had one gun. Plus explosives, pipe bombs evidently.
The kid ran over his brother when he escaped and probably killed him although we don't know.
The kid did not have a gun so he did not try to shoot himself. His wounds are from the firing of (what I would think were gun happy) cops. Thereby almost losing the one witness who could tell anything about what happened.
The interrogators got 16 hours with the kid before the judge showed up and he got a lawyer. A long time, actually, although the law as people try to interpret would allow more, maybe 72 hours.
If you compare this with the "story" as put together by the press and networks, there is a considerable difference some of which is crucial.
Of course, they have so much on the kid that a compromised confession is frosting on the cake but still.
This is nothing new of course.
People are shocked that the press gets things so wrong.
I am not.
I was in public life for about 6 years, local government but highly visible.
I was good press bait because I said things one wasn't supposed to say and answered questions no one else would. The reporters would come to me.
But it was just hell getting them to tell the story right. Eventually, I just wrote the stuff out for them, printed.
It is not too different today. Most reporters are likable souls in dead end jobs, often with several bosses, usually drug or alcohol dependent and always bone tired.
Some of the nicest, amusing and rambunctious unhealthy people I have ever known.
