Thursday 21 October 2010

From the Chile Tourist board...

Last Friday, the Daily Star's front page story claimed that the San Jose mine in Chile was 'to open as theme park'.

There was no evidence this was the case - even the quote the paper used about 'tourist potential' failed to mention a theme park - and the story seems to have originated on a spoof news website.

Here's what the Star said:

The Chilean Tourist Board now aims to turn the mine site into a money-spinning theme park. They are also set to offer adventure holidays including a trip underground on the rescue capsule that brought the 33 to safety.

But here's what the European Press Representative of the Chilean Tourist Board (Turismo Chile) has told this blog:

Well, I don't know where this newspaper got that information. I've never heard anything like that.

The Star has form on this. Recently they admitted they had 'made no attempt to check the accuracy of [a] story before publication.' Clearly they didn't contact Turismo Chile to check this story either.

Last month, the PCC actually upheld a complaint about one of the Star's front page stories where the Commission said it was:

...particularly concerned at the lack of care the newspaper had taken in its presentation of the story.

It seems an almost daily feature that the front page is misleading if not simply wrong.

When will we get a regulator that will do something about it other than express 'concern'?

3 comments:

  1. What can the toothless PCC do other than show concern?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why don't we try to lure the star into printing an absurd story of our creation? Circulate a photshopped picture of Cheryl Cole working as a lollipop lady or some other garbage and see if the Star bites.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A retracting article blaming an annoymous source will be published on page 14 in a space the size of a postage stamp (squeezed between a conspiracy theory about the EU and a photo of Jordan buying a mars bar) in February 2011.

    I'd put money on it. ;-)

    p.s. the fake celeb stories idea was done in a project called starsuckers!

    ReplyDelete

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