# There's the Truth and then there's the press!



## Peter Eccleson (Jan 16, 2006)

I recall back in 1975 around the time of the withdrawal of US Forces from Saigon a journalist from a well known US 'broadsheet' newspaper was cruising with us in the Caribbean . He appeared in the radio room with an article that he wanted telexed to his newspaper in New York.
It was quite astounding and was an 'eye opener' as to how the press operated. It began " As I look along the 14 foot high perimeter fence of our embassy in Saigon I witness desperate people screaming for admission and sanctuary the panic evident on their faces.....we are leaving the majority of them behind"
On and on it went, describing his 'eyewitness' view of what was happening on the ground. Yet here he was, on a Caribbean cruise ship with his family en-route to Grenada from La Guaira, Venezuela.

I have had a very cautious view of news media ever since!


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## Wismajorvik (Dec 29, 2011)

Have come across similar reports. A request to a photographer to send “happy photographs” of a certain group of people obviously to fit the story made up in the newspaper. That group were not happy returning to a volcanic island.


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## kewl dude (Jun 1, 2008)

There was a television MASH episode where a famous US reporter visited the 4077th. Said reporter embellished a story printed in Star & Stripes so much that the MASH characters, who had witnessed the same event did not recognize it printed in Stars & Stripes. The reporter admitted that he usually did 'punch things up a bit' since it sold newspapers. 

In theory today we have many more sources of news than back in those days. Although some of the press today, freely admit, that they are an entertainment channel, not a news channel; but advertise themselves as a news network. 

What is the answer? I do not know except to try and read as many different sources as you can to 'try' to discern the real story. Today I like to read free Yahoo news since they publish stories that live behind pay walls on the original site. They even publish links to the original stories at the bottom of their pieces.


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## sparks69 (Dec 18, 2005)

As long as you are able to read between the lines (ie be relatively intelligent) on any media story then I treat any media story with a bit of healthy scepticism.
Been there a couple of times and then read the "story" later.
(BTW the SUNDAY SPORT isn't a newspaper.)


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## lancslad (Jan 3, 2017)

Peter Eccleson said:


> I recall back in 1975 around the time of the withdrawal of US Forces from Saigon a journalist from a well known US 'broadsheet' newspaper was cruising with us in the Caribbean . He appeared in the radio room with an article that he wanted telexed to his newspaper in New York.
> It was quite astounding and was an 'eye opener' as to how the press operated. It began " As I look along the 14 foot high perimeter fence of our embassy in Saigon I witness desperate people screaming for admission and sanctuary the panic evident on their faces.....we are leaving the majority of them behind"
> On and on it went, describing his 'eyewitness' view of what was happening on the ground. Yet here he was, on a Caribbean cruise ship with his family en-route to Grenada from La Guaira, Venezuela.
> 
> I have had a very cautious view of news media ever since!


Was this on Cunard Adventurer? Thats part of the schedule we had.


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## Avraham Ariel (Sep 1, 2016)

As Mark Twain once said, “*If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed*.”


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