IrishCop,
it has been my long experience that the press routinely LIES., as scandals (whether true or "invented") increase "market share", sell subscriptions & sell advertizing.
just four examples:
1. when my late wife died in 1983, i was accused in "a local publication" of "possible complicity in" her death from acute leukemia, as her relatives believed, despite all medical evidence to the contrary, that i didn't "do enough" to keep her from dying! - in their opinion, 2 bone marrow transplants, whole body x-ray therapy & 4 rounds of chemo just wasn't enough!
(you cannot "catch" leukemia! - it's NOT like chicken pox.)
2. a longtime army buddy, during RVN, was accused of war crimes, that allegedly had been committed, AFTER he had been KIA near Firebase Zebra. - when the national TV network received a certified copy of the death certificate (several months later), they then accused him of additional war crimes that happened over a year after his death.
(the TV company couldn't be successfully sued because you cannot libel or slander the dead!)
3. an elementary school teacher in an AR county was accused of child abuse/neglect/molestation, when she had NO children by birth, marriage or adoption. - "the media" could have found that FACT out by simply asking her neighbors, the sheriff or many other people in the area.
she lost her job/home, was divorced by her husband, had to take back her maiden name & moved out of state to stop "being hassled" by ignorant people.
(the actual molester was another woman, with a similar name.)
Cynthia M____________ never received an apology or anything else from her accusers & you cannot successfully sue a "media outlet", unless you can PROVE that they knew that their accusation were known to be false PRIOR to the publication date AND that the accusers of the press "acted with reckless disregard for the truth". - a simple "mistake of fact", that destroys your reputation, isn't enough to prevail at law!
4. Richard Jewell's repuation was utterly destroyed by the national press after they "created a scandal" (based on nothing more than common gossip) that accused Jewell of "being somehow possibly involved in" bombing the Atlanta Olympic Games. - he was the security guard who discovered the bombs & reported the incident to the police!
until his death, Jewell never was able to secure full-time employment & ended up on "public assistance".
and you wonder why i believe that the press are a "nest of vipers"?
just my opinion, sw
