A NAIVE few of us in the journalism business truly believe that our colleagues strive to bring integrity to the job. Of course, from time to time the unintentional pun or unintelligible spelling slips in under the editing radar. Everyone enjoys a chuckle over their morning coffee and paper, so most of the time, it's easy to move on. But when the most popular newspaper in Beijing unknowingly reprinted parts of an American spoof story, it left journalists and readers alike - after the hysterics subsided - crying, "Where has all the common sense gone?"
Among those with an eye for satire and irony, The Onion has gained a loyal following for its parodies of everything from politics to celebrity personalities. Unfortunately for the Beijing Evening News, one of its freelance writers took the spoof tabloid for a legitimate news source. The Onion's May 29 article, titled "Congress Threatens To Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built," lampoons Congress as a spoiled Major League Baseball team demanding a new stadium. The writer's story based on the Onion piece hit the international page of the Beijing Evening News on June 3, much to the latter's ensuing chagrin. Hopefully, journalists have learned a few lessons on healthy skepticism from this mess.
Let's not be too hasty, however, to condemn the unidentified author. After all, history is filled with gaffes when the media just got it wrong. One of the most well-known flubs of recent history took place during the 1948 presidential election when newspapers prematurely - and mistakenly - declared "Dewey defeats Truman."
Undoubtedly, any reminiscence about presidential races must include the election of 2000 with the pregnant and hanging chads of Florida. Television networks called the election between Al Gore and George W. Bush too close to call until the wee hours of the morning when Bush was declared the winner. A few hours later, the results flip-flopped only to again become undecided. It was a truly embarrassing mistake of epic proportions, and veteran news anchor Tom Brokaw got it on the money with his early morning crack, "Not only do we have egg on our faces, we have omelet all over our suits."
The modern media, with its desire for up-to-the-minute reporting, also has suffered at times from the urge to be the first to report celebrity deaths. A while before his actual passing, Joe DiMaggio was reported dead on MSNBC. Oops.
So really, the Beijing Evening News writer isn't the only one to mess up. The dazzling professionalism of The Onion only adds to the vulnerability of the media. The Web site is clearly organized from news briefs to story links. It all looks legit - not to mention the actual story itself. Written in a concise and informative style a la Associated Press, someone could easily be sucked in by the tone of the article. The piece even includes a smart-looking diagram of the proposed new Capitol building with an inset of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) speaking to reporters. Plus, a publication can't call itself "America's finest news source" for nothing.
Then again, legitimate appearances aside, something - a few things - should have set off the warning sirens in this guy's head. While that sharp picture of a renovated capitol seems professional, it looks more like Miller Park in Milwaukee than Capitol Hill. A retractable dome? Come on. The story mentions Charlotte and Memphis as the primary candidates for the new legislative center. Sure, a couple of hundred congressmen would be a fitting replacement for the departing Hornets in Charlotte, and they might add grandeur to Tennessee, whose name people have trouble just spelling. But let's face it. Memphis already has Graceland, and Charlotte - well, Charlotte is kind of in the middle of nowhere. You'd hope such odd locales might have tipped off the intrepid reporter.
Sadly, no glaring hints could save the Beijing Evening News. Not even its own editors could preserve it from ridicule. This is no PTA newsletter, folks. We're talking about a newspaper - perhaps the term is used too loosely, as several American news agencies have labeled it a tabloid - with a circulation of one-and-a-quarter million. One would assume the international page went through one, if not more, editing run, but not a single person with some level-headed common sense caught the blunder.
The purists of journalism only can smile now and shake their heads. Hopefully, this slip-up has given some writers a lesson in the reliability of sources and newspapers a reason to edit carefully. In this case, it's hard to say whether we should be lamenting gullibility or a lack of rational thought. Maybe it's a photo finish - just don't quote me on that.
(Becky Krystal is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached a bkrystal@cavalierdaily.com.)
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