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Oops: Media outlets pull stories claiming Quincy hit-and-run victim was Bulger minion turned informant
By adamg on Fri, 12/25/2009 - 3:32pm
The Herald and Channel 5 both had stories on their Web sites this morning claming that a Milton man found dead in a Quincy snowbank yesterday was a Southie boyo who ratted out Bulger when Bulger turned his back on the guy's family after he was sent to the stir. The stories (the Herald broke it, Channel 5 reported on it) were complete with loving quotes from a fellow convict (former state Sen. and fraudster Joe Timilty) about what a great guy he was.
Both have now taken out all Bulger references (and Timilty quotes) from their stories. The Herald also turned comments off on its story.
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Comments
Herald report.
Saw it early this morning, where it had a couple of comments from an outraged reader )in fact I think that was his screen name) saying "Hey! you f****g idiots have got the wrong guy! I know the victim and his family and he's in no way connected with Bulger. It's a different person completely!" or words to that effect. Second post goes on to vilify the Herald for crappy reporting, not checking facts/sources; and by the way did all the editors take the weekend off? As I read it, I said to myself ('cause I was the only one there), "Ooh boy, if this guy is right there's gonna be a major storm unleashed." And so it begins. Thanks Adam.
Maybe the Gallucio taste
Maybe the Gallucio taste tester would have been better used as a fact checker on this story instead of getting pie-eyed on Crest and Coors Lite. Looks like this funeral tab is on the Herald... and then some.
I thought the Ledger screwed up
Heck, that Bulger connection was in the print edition I bought in RI today.
Followed up on the story in the Patriot-Ledger and it had nothing on that angle.
I thought the P-L was slipping.
Should have known it was the other way around.
I wouldn't use the Herald to wrap fish these days.
Fact-fail residue
However, the Herald's "Related Articles" sidebar still links to
Nice work.
Orwellian
Or Soviet-esque how the news is just changed and that becomes the record.
It's a little unsettling.
The Herald's correction. Hard
The Herald's correction. Hard to find though, had to search "Paul Moore" on their site engine to get it. Should be on page 1.
Easy to find in the paper
You're right, the correction should be on page 1, but they didn't try to hide it in the paper. The correction is at the top of page 2 today with an all-caps headline.
Way to go Herald!
I know I'm piling on a bit, but this is stunning. What reporter(s) and editor(s) are responsible for this clusterf**k? First there's a grieving family during the Christmas holiday. Second there's a wrongful connection to an iconic crime figure. In view of the stakes involved, how could a story like that be approved without fact checking?!
Sounds like we've got a J School case study in the making...