Dipping into the Blogpond

Yes, I’m talking about that alleged Meg White video.

Why would I want to do that? Well, I’m a Meg, first and foremost. So “Meg” headlines tend to jump out at me – especially when they are making “top search” lists left, right and centre.

Until recently I had never heard of drummer Meg White, or the White Stripes. OK, so maybe I do live under a rock.

But my interest was piqued, and then I read a fascinating post by Swollen Pickles (SP) about the tape being fake.

SP takes the Sydney Morning Herald to task

As of writing this, the SMH “Meg White sex video claim” story is the second most viewed story on the SMH website. The story was first published on the SMH site at 12.30pm on the 26 September. The article signs off with:

“Representatives for the band are yet to confirm or deny the video is genuine.”

What’s wrong with the story you ask? Well, anyone with access to Google, which I’m assuming is readily accessible by the people at SMH headquarters, can tell you within about 30 seconds that the “sex video” is a hoax.

SP also goes on to highlight a statement of denial made by the band’s publicist (prior to the SMH article), points to the original forum where the tape was posted for a laugh and how the original poster admitted it had no connection with Meg.

He concludes with

It’s both funny and sad that news outlets didn’t bother to check if the story was based on fact at all! So the Sydney Morning Herald fail on two counts. They published old ‘news’ that had already been proven false. Sometimes the quality of Australian print media is laughable, I guess you could file the Meg White “sex tape” as exhibit A.

So when you see statements such as this by Trish Bolton in “News on the Net: A critical analysis of the potential of online alternative journalism to challenge the dominance of mainstream news media”

The tenet that journalists must at all times strive for credibility and truth is not always practised by an alternative journalism populated with citizens keen to tell ‘their stories’ or their version of ‘the truth’.

and this from Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur (which Kim Cameron reviews in Emperor of the Amateurs) in “Blogs Breakfast“:

The mainstream media, he argues, offers a quality product that is vetted by knowledgeable editors and corroborated by sources. “The responsibility of a journalist is to inform us, not converse with us,” Keen writes. “If you simply want to converse with a journalist, invite them to your local bar for a few drinks.”

– it kind of makes you go hmmm.

The lesson here? Take your pick – “sex sells” or “never let the truth…”.

What is really sad is the adverse publicity for Meg White – little wonder the poor woman is suffering from anxiety.