Media mangle and mishandle
details of Kobe Bryant’s death
Washington Examiner,
by
Becket Adams
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
1/27/2020 5:12:37 AM
It is an old rule of journalism that it is better to get it right than to get it first.
But after seeing how reporters reacted Sunday to news of retired NBA star Kobe Bryant's death, you could be forgiven for thinking that such a rule no longer exists, if it ever existed at all.
The former Los Angeles Laker was among nine people killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in Southern California. The other victims include Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna, one of her teammates on her basketball team, the teammate’s parent, and the pilot.
Those are the facts. Everything else you may have heard
The helicopter must have been racist.
10 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 1/27/2020 6:05:27 AM (No. 299243)
Welcome to life. So many people are falling all over themselves to get their 15 minutes of fame and fortune; it is sad because those attitudes are happening in almost all aspects of life. And death.
Truly sad that the family of Kobe Bryant had to listen to the inaccuracies while dealing with sorrow.
24 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
bighambone 1/27/2020 6:27:21 AM (No. 299250)
All the media cares about is the “story” in the form of a controversial and sensational scoop. It’s got a lot worse since the 24/7 media came into being.
30 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
4Justice 1/27/2020 6:27:24 AM (No. 299251)
What's worse is how all the leftists attacked President Trump for his Tweet about Bryant and his daughter. They turned the tragedy into a political hate session. They kept saying he plagiarized Obama's tweet and they kept posting an old tweet where Bryant said something like President's name alone brought out bigotry, racism and hate. It was disgusting.
42 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Mekkkk 1/27/2020 6:35:11 AM (No. 299255)
Sad but true
9 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
The Remnants 1/27/2020 7:03:31 AM (No. 299267)
Media - in all its forms - do not know what is objective truth. I mean, they'd lie about the weather, and then lie about lying about the weather, and they don't care.
22 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Lazyman 1/27/2020 7:14:17 AM (No. 299269)
The problem now is you can be wrong all the time but if you're on tv many still believe .
19 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
udanja99 1/27/2020 7:20:32 AM (No. 299274)
We see this all the time and always in the enemedia. Friday’s March for Life reminded us of how badly they botched the Covington Catholic story a year ago. And then there’s impeachment.
27 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 1/27/2020 7:40:52 AM (No. 299285)
The helicopter was flying with a "special VFR (visual flight rules)" clearance. This means they must remain clear of the clouds. The weather was lousy and they were so low that radar contact was lost with the helicopter.
14 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 1/27/2020 7:47:29 AM (No. 299291)
As long as they look pretty in front of the camera .
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
janjan 1/27/2020 7:48:58 AM (No. 299293)
Today’s media are not journalists. They are TV entertainers who fall all over each other trying to be first to announce bad news. Kobe Bryant’s extended family and friends had to listen to this. Horrible.
25 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 1/27/2020 7:50:16 AM (No. 299294)
My husbands idiot cousin put a video of the crash, which probably wasn’t even it, on fb. I couldn’t believe how crass that was. I defriended him.
I’m not looking for sympathy here but my husband 18 year old daughter was hit by a semi right before Thanksgiving and her SUV was in 2 pieces, the force was so strong. A local news station put that picture on their fb page and I just could not believe how many people shared it!!
It’s all condolences and prayers for the family but they don’t think of the impact of what they post.
26 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Rather Read 1/27/2020 7:58:25 AM (No. 299304)
#12 you have my sympathy no matter what. I am not on facebook and all I can do when I hear of a death no matter who the person may be is to pray for him/her and the family. Sharing pictures? I can't imagine it.
27 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
coyote 1/27/2020 8:02:57 AM (No. 299309)
I thought that "old rule of journalism" was the other way around.
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
BeatleJeff 1/27/2020 8:20:08 AM (No. 299326)
After the death of pop star Aaliyah in a plane crash, I read an article saying the worst thing that could happen to you is to die in an incident with a celebrity, even a minor one like Aaliyah, because you will be forever reduced to the name "others." This morning the tradition continues as the reporting is that a helicopter crash kills Bryant, his daughter, and anywhere from three to seven "others." You would hope that the press would have consideration and compassion for all involved, but I guess that's too much to expect from our celebrity obsessed media.
27 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
sadc 1/27/2020 8:26:19 AM (No. 299330)
True Journalism is dead... you heard it here first.
11 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Mrs. Obelix 1/27/2020 8:35:37 AM (No. 299335)
I am glad the focus of the story was the awful reporting. I don't follow basketball so I really was only acquainted with Kobe Bryant by name. It took me forever to find a story that had a basic obit even though I saw the news hours after the crash. I can understand that he might have been a little young to have an obit on file, but none of the stories answered my questions, which were basically, "Who is this guy? Whom did he play for? What position did he play? Did he ever win a championship? Did he hold any other records or was he knonw for any particular, remarkable events? When was he an active player?"
It is a terribly sad story, by the way. That is another issue.
9 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
dolphin 1/27/2020 8:51:35 AM (No. 299344)
Everything is bad reporting. And everything is political. Who expects anything else?
I DID wonder who the "others" were. I also wonder if he'll get a state funeral? I understand he was very famous, although I didn't really know who he was.
6 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
lakerman1 1/27/2020 8:58:54 AM (No. 299351)
Here is something that will surprise you people.
Back in the 1990s, Geraldo Riviera had a show that came on later in the evening. And when that 747 crashed into the Atlantic, he was on the show, live, had the information quickly, but it had not been confirmed.
Geraldo agonized over that, and said, 'There is a big story about to break, but I can't talk about it yet.'
As for the Kobe Bryant crash, the confusion of facts in early reporting of such events has existed for all of my 81 years.
6 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 1/27/2020 9:05:45 AM (No. 299361)
Ever since the msm became an extension of social media, they turned into a global National Enquirer. Shame on the advertisers who market themselves on the msm newscasts during such horrible news events. I'm pretty sick of the Liberty Mutual ads as it is.
12 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
ControlFreak 1/27/2020 9:16:52 AM (No. 299374)
I won’t bore you with all of my horrific experiences with the media after two members of my family died in a plane crash, but I will share with you the worst. A photo of the supposed interior of the plane floated around media FB pages showing a hole blown out of the back of the plane with someone who was identified as my sister being sucked out of the hole. (It wasn’t her, nor was it a photo from inside her plane,) How’s that for irresponsible reporting? My heart breaks for the family members of those lost in this crash. The media circus will only make things harder for them.
23 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Hermoine 1/27/2020 9:36:16 AM (No. 299392)
Looks like Becket Adams needs to add himself to mangled media reports...in his efforts to criticize the media (rightfully so), he also got the story wrong, FTA:
The former Los Angeles Laker was among nine people killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in Southern California. The other victims include Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna, one of her teammates on her basketball team, the teammate’s parent, and the pilot. Those are the facts. Everything else you may have heard about the victims of the crash is false.
As we all now know, there were 9 people on board, not 5. Regardless, it was a terrible tragedy.
5 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
little guy 1/27/2020 9:38:20 AM (No. 299393)
Really nothing to see here.
Another sad tragedy --- live history --- being misreported, exaggerated, embellished and outright lied about just to make the teller seem more important than the event.
There now is NOTHING that you can rely on coming from the media, in any and all of it's forms, unless you personally check multiple sources. Even then you'll only be 90% there!
4 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
jacksin5 1/27/2020 9:43:38 AM (No. 299401)
An axiom of the MSM has always been,"If it bleeds, it leads". I was trying to escape the Media Blitz last evening where the commentators were asking everyone including each other. "So how those this make you feel?" I couldn't even get a report from the Weather Channel, as a group of Meteorologists were doing the same thing.
Meanwhile, in major cities throughout the U.S. Blacks are slaughtering each other every day with nary a peep.
6 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
marbles 1/27/2020 9:46:17 AM (No. 299406)
IF the MSM were interested in reporting verified fact, impeachment would not be going on.
10 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 1/27/2020 10:02:33 AM (No. 299429)
In contrast the Sheriff's office declined to identify any of the victims' identities until after the medical examiner completed his work. I'm guessing they are no fans of media vultures who rush to report half truths.
3 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
earlybird 1/27/2020 10:27:01 AM (No. 299448)
The local lreports were more measured, but those in the East Coast outlets went berserk.
Yesterday I found it ironic that there was another article in the Washington Examiner - at the same time as this one - that was full of errors. You’d think they would have taken it down.
For #18, who knows nothing of Kobe:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/12/kobe-bryant-a-record-breaking-look-back-on-a-glittering-nba-career-410001/
1 person likes this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 1/27/2020 10:33:23 AM (No. 299460)
This is the first we have heard of the make up of the rest of the passengers. I didn't realize it was Kobe's daughter who got killed too. Kobe's widow must be heartbroken, as well as the families of the dead kids and Coach. RIP and peace to all the surviving and grieving families.
5 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
Zbogwan2 1/27/2020 10:37:21 AM (No. 299464)
Years ago I watched News Reporters running to submit the results of a Court Case(Casey Anthony, Hillary Clinton or another controversially verdict) and it was like a Cattle Stampede from one of the Western Movies I've watched. No wonder poor Kolbe's and the other casualties of this disaster were miss reported by many of the Dud Reporters?
2 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
Strike3 1/27/2020 10:41:48 AM (No. 299471)
The media is the worst culprit but Kobe's "friends" who just had to get their mugs on TV the same night to answer questions about their "feelings" are just as bad. Grieve for a few days, then give them your comments, not while the wreck is still smoking.
Besides criticizing Trump they also had to comment how the extremely dry grass that was burning delayed firefighters in reaching the wreck.
8 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
gone2pot 1/27/2020 10:44:17 AM (No. 299475)
Without knowing the maintenance records of the aircraft, the S-76 is arguably the best American made civilian helicopter and when maintained, it's probably the safest as well. The S-76 has two pilots. Having flown this area in the mid eighties through mid nineties, the LA area morning scud layer and morning fog layers can bite the most experienced pilots in the rear end and disorientation is a quick onset if you lose a visible horizon, even with the attitude indicator. I have no idea what caused the crash but my guess is they were heading west over the 101, tried to maintain visual contact with the ground, went IFR way too low, turned back to where they believed the visibility was better and flew into a hill south (or north) of the 101 during the turn.
7 people like this.
Fake news at its worst.
Facts matter.
Journalism is dead...sensationalism reigns.
No one will be fired for this.
4 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 1/27/2020 11:28:35 AM (No. 299523)
One more post. I remember when Ronald Reagan was shot. I worked second shift and was heading to work and heard on the radio station that he was dead. It wasn't until later on in the evening that I found out he was alive.
Just so you know I am not a sarcastic, cynical person. Every day people lose someone significant in their life and, unless you are a politician, sports figure, celebrity or prominent person, grief and sorrow are handled in a private manner. There are some people who die very lonely and there is no celebration of their life. It saddens me that there is so much public fanfare for politicians, sports figures, celebrities and prominent people when they die. I am getting tired of elitism.
10 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Enoch Powell 1/27/2020 11:38:24 AM (No. 299533)
I know the name but had to google him to see who he was... a shame of course, and from what I've heard a very nice guy.
2 people like this.
Reply 35 - Posted by:
rabblerouser 1/27/2020 12:08:06 PM (No. 299549)
Again, watch the breast- beating howling over a celebrity death. I am sorry the man is dead, but this hoorah makes me want to yak.
2 people like this.
Reply 36 - Posted by:
fairplay 1/27/2020 1:13:25 PM (No. 299609)
Sensational Headlines is what the MSM want!
1 person likes this.
Reply 37 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 1/27/2020 3:36:27 PM (No. 299734)
(I had no idea Kobe was a conservative!) Rest in peace.
0 people like this.
Reply 38 - Posted by:
TXknitter 1/27/2020 3:50:34 PM (No. 299747)
Well #34, you only said what many many Americans think as well. Nobody is trying to be unkind. Yes I feel terrible that his family had to endure some bad reporting. However, I guarantee you a family lawyer or representative had a hot line at all times to someone in authority. The family did not have to depend on the dramatic showbiz reporting style of cable news entirely. Other crash victims MUST because often they do not get the consideration the rich and famous do. We all feel sad that a son, husband and father was lost at such a young age. I cannot imagine the loss.
2 people like this.
Reply 39 - Posted by:
MeiDei 1/27/2020 8:14:38 PM (No. 299902)
"The other passengers included the pilot, Ara Zobayan; the college baseball coach John Altobelli and Altobelli’s wife, Keri, and daughter Alyssa; Christina Mauser, a basketball coach; and Sarah and Payton Chester, a mother and daughter who lived in Orange County."
May their family & friends find comfort and peace.
1 person likes this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Pluperfect"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)