tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092552783161885712.post3110295491511089902..comments2024-03-13T15:35:30.839+00:00Comments on Tabloid Watch: 'Gurgling'MacGuffinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16894506410560858668noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092552783161885712.post-40358961869794532542012-09-25T22:43:15.733+01:002012-09-25T22:43:15.733+01:00Yes very strange, they are attributing it to shit ...Yes very strange, they are attributing it to shit journalism effectively - what seems like a serious issue of an elderly woman being hit twice in a month following a similar incident only 2 years earlier is in fact not serious enough for Ms. Wyatt to come up with some original copy.<br /><br />Whatever the truth of it, it's garbage journalism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092552783161885712.post-19067670011919239732012-09-25T18:08:41.865+01:002012-09-25T18:08:41.865+01:00Thanks for the comment and for posting the details...Thanks for the comment and for posting the details of your complaint. <br /><br />If we accept those details are true, it still seems baffling that she didn't mention the 2010 incident in the recent article, as it would have strengthened her argument. <br /><br />And it still seems very, very strange that two of her friends seem to have reacted in identical ways (gurgling, then saying 'how awful') when told of the incidents. MacGuffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16894506410560858668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092552783161885712.post-1885291482659452482012-09-25T14:02:50.219+01:002012-09-25T14:02:50.219+01:00I submitted a complaint to the PCC on the basis th...I submitted a complaint to the PCC on the basis that the stories were copied and pasted and unlikely to be true.<br /><br />The MoS replied in brief saying that there had in fact been 3 incidents, and the mugging occurred in 2008 but there had been an error in copy editing.<br /><br />I said that the chance of 3 such incidents in 2 years to the same person was so small as to be zero (only around 40 such incidents occur per year) and it was much more reasonable to conclude that the article was fabricated, copied, pasted, and then subjected to minor edits.<br /><br />They responded as follows:<br /><br />"There were three separate incidents: One in 2010, which Miss Wyatt wrote about that that time, and two more this year. She has provided details as follows:<br /><br />β1. The first incident. Date. 10/03/2010. My mother was crossing St Johns Wood Terrace in the early evening. A cyclist with no lamps knocked her down and didn't stop. She was able to get up and walk to the nearby went to the Wellington Hospital, which is about 100 yards away or less, and her left arm was put in a cast. The police were not called on this occasion, as she did not need an ambulance to get to the hospital. The surgeon who attended to her arm is called Simon Moyes. <br />2. The second incident. Date: 16th August, 2012. My mother was crossing Regent Street between four and five in the afternoon. A cyclist shot a red light and didn't stop. Passers-by called an ambulance which took her to St Mary's Hospital in Praed Street, W2. Her right arm was put in a cast. She was badly hurt and the police were informed. <br />3. The third incident. In the late afternoon/eve of the 4th September, 2012, she was hit by a cyclist whilst crossing St Johns Wood High Street, NW8. Once again, the cyclist shot a red light. On this occasion, as on the first, she was able to get up, though she was very badly bruised close to her left eye. Had it been closer she might have lost the sight of her eye. The cast on her arm was reset the following day in St Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, W2, because the fall had caused the right arm to swell under the cast which gave her great pain during the night. Thus, the following morning they put on a looser cast. She was told that without an operation her hand will never be the same again.β <br /> <br />We have already explained there was an editing mistake causing the article to say that Miss Wyatt had been mugged by a youth on a bicycle in 2012. In fact this incident occurred in 2008. Police were informed at that time. We do not accept this was a significant inaccuracy since the article did not suggest there had been two such incidents.<br /><br />Nonetheless, to resolve the matter, we would be willing to publish the following clarification:<br /><br />βAn article on September 9 said the writer Petronella Wyatt had her handbag stolen by a gang of youths on bicycles in 2012. In fact there was an editing mistake and the incident actually occurred in 2008, as Miss Wyatt wrote in a previous article in 2010. Her mother has been hurt in three incidents involving cyclists.β"<br /><br />My guess is the 2010 incident is genuine, the others seem doubtful but nothing further can be done to disprove it I guess.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2092552783161885712.post-26106303151101014352012-09-11T11:14:04.701+01:002012-09-11T11:14:04.701+01:00I notice that the 2010 article has a comment attac...I notice that the 2010 article has a comment attached to the end stating that part of the article is factually incorrect. As with the recent EU MOT car modification stories, it seems to be case of publish first and don't check the facts later.Antonynoreply@blogger.com