Wed
Dec 12 2007
01:49:pm
MDT: Faxing it in now?
By: R. Neal  shortURL



It's gone from their website, but the big, bold, top of the front page headline in today's Maryville Daily Times says "ALCOA makes hostile bid for Alcan".

The problem is, the article is a slice and dice of a May, 2007 Alcoa press release.

According to an Alcoa spokesperson today, "This is old news from back in May. Alcan was already bought by Rio Tinto, and that happened months ago."

Memo to the MDT: If you aren't going to check your facts, at least check the dates on press releases you transcribe onto the front page.

UPDATE: Looks like this is an exact reprint of a May 2007 AP report.

UPDATE: The correction in Thursday's paper: "Correction: The Daily Times inadvertently published a dated Associated Press story in Wednesday's newspaper about ALCOA. While the information was correct at the time the story was originally issued, Rio Tinto has since purchased Alcan. We apologize for the error."

Topics:

coming soon to a newspaper near you

Submitted by mello on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 14:09.

One front and center retraction and correction coming soon....

Two birds with one stone

Submitted by Fairview Angel on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 14:33.

I have an idea for the Maryville HS expansion. Take the building at 307 E. Harper Ave and use it for vocational classes on how to run a newspaper. High school kids couldn't do any worse.

"From wire reports"? Do wire reports not come with dates? It would be interesting to see what "wire" that's coming from.

I think the only wire the DT should be focused on is the high wire they've been on with politicians, lawyers and advertisers. Time to get the others off - or simply enjoy the fall.

The only possible

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 14:39.

The only possible explanations I can think of are a) Some kind of page layout mistake like using an old template or inserting the wrong file or something like that, or b) they were setup

I can't see that this exact

Submitted by mello on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 15:02.

I can't see that this exact same article ever ran in the DT before today. Whatever the reason, it will be very interesting to see how the DT spins this.

...or how Goddard and Gamble

Submitted by Fairview Angel on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 15:28.

...or how Goddard and Gamble will have them spin this. What would happen if Rio Tinto took a stock hit on this?

The link and excerpt still

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 15:39.

The link and excerpt still shows up in Google, and it's linked to the Google Finance AA page:

Michael Silence weighs

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 16:16.

Michael Silence weighs in:

(link...)

The Daily Times

Submitted by FarmerJohn on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 17:56.

WTF? Run a real article about the real estate market and magically advertorials appear saying things ain't that bad. Run an article about a court case and retract the article (even though the writer pleaded his case). Write a silly story with people bitchin about Ruby Tuesday's, a major player in town, and get a nasty LTTE from Sandy Beal. The Daily Times is pathetic. Anyone want to start another local paper?

Hey Dean, quit signing your book and get back to work? And get rid of that girly picture of you - only women rest their chin on their hand.

Oh, and quit pushing the southern loop. I know ole Tutt came up with the idea, but he's not a traffic engineer.

Oh, and report some other relevany local news.

WTF? I believe that is the

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 18:03.

WTF?

I believe that is the general consensus of opinion. Looking forward to tomorrow's paper, in which all will be revealed. We hope.

New newspaper

Submitted by FarmerJohn on Wed, 12/12/2007 - 18:16.

C'mon south knox bubba, you would be a great editor for a new Blount County newspaper :)

Nothing in the paper today.

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 12/13/2007 - 10:38.

Nothing in the paper today. Curiouser and curiouser.

Found the original AP wire report from May of 2007 here:

(link...)

This is the same as what the MDT printed, word-for-word.

Is it an AP wire reporting error? An elaborate hoax?

Correction

Submitted by FarmerJohn on Thu, 12/13/2007 - 11:39.

There's a small correction on the front page that says "The Daily Times inadvertantly published a dated Associated Press story in Wednesday's newspaper about ALCOA. While the information was correct at the time the story was originally issued, Rio Tinto has since purchased Alcan. We apologize for the error."

Uh, it's a 6 month old story dumba$$e$. Of course there was another positive ALCOA story on the front page.

There is a name for that..

Submitted by gime_shltr on Thu, 12/13/2007 - 11:42.

There is a name for that. In the NBA (National Basketball Association for those non-sports followers), it is known as "the make-up call".

Duh. Thanks.

Submitted by R. Neal on Thu, 12/13/2007 - 12:30.

Duh. Thanks.

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