- Helen (Thompson) Heckes, 1927
I look forward to Wednesdays. It’s the day the Chinook Observer, our weekly newspaper, arrives in our mailbox and I know I’ll be learning many interesting things about the community – not only news of the present, but about the past as well. I am never disappointed but sometimes I am disturbed.
This week for example, I saw that there was a quote from my late neighbor, Helen Heckes. There was no source for the quote. Indeed, it sounded like the writer had just interviewed her. Unless he has a direct line to heaven, that’s quite a trick. Helen died in 1990.
There were a number of factual errors and mix-ups of chronology in that particular article. I know that because I know many of the people involved and I was here at the time. As I read, all my journalistic training (B.A. in Journalism, Stanford University, 1957) came roaring to the surface. “Check and double-check your facts.” “Go to the original source, if possible.” “Cite your sources.”
Sloppy reporting, lack of copy-reading, and little oversight by editors are common problems in today’s media. In these days of sound bite television news and instant internet coverage there seems to be little time or interest in thorough investigation before ‘going public.’ At best, the end product of such slipshod work may be hurtful to others. Once misinformation is ‘out there,’ no amount of apology or errata statements or letters to the editor can erase it.
At worst, from the historian’s viewpoint, such irresponsible journalism is a disaster. Years later, erroneous information will be referred to as gospel – after all, it was in print. We can only hope that tomorrow’s historians do a better job than today’s journalists at checking and double-checking their facts.
There certainly is a folkiness, but also unprofessionalness about the Observer. Personally, I hope the above is going to the paper as a letter to the editor. Unfortunately I don’t think the paper can afford to hire proper writers.
Yes, I will be writing a letter to the editor which will be much more specific than this blog. Look for it next week.
Ah….dear Sydney! I don’t know the article of which you speak, but I do know that I just have to compliment you once again on your WONDERFUL blog! I am enthralled by your rich, historic writings and your seemingly effortless writing style. Keep up the good “work” my friend! <3
Thank you so much for your kind and welcome comments, Judy. I was purposely vague in my blog as I am still double-checking the facts 🙂 but I definitely plan to write a letter to the editor in an attempt to set the record straight. Stay tuned!
Good for you, Sydney. Just because the Observer is a small newspaper, there’s no excuse for slip-shod reporting. I’m thinking about writing a letter myself since I am involved in the article and some of the errors were about my family. My paper should arrive today.
I will be watching….
I remember Helen, and our family having dinner at her house several times (my dad and Peter were best friends growing up). I remember her really beautiful dining room