View Full Version : Heroic newspaper article screws me and my roommate over...
LinkTheGameFreak
09-08-2006, 11:42 AM
I was asked yesterday by a news reporter about my thoughts on college drinking and gave him my opinion that since we have a dry campus that students shouldn't fucking drink (ya know, getting in trouble and stuff) so he then asked if I had any experiences with college drinking and I said "only when my roommate goes out on the weekends and stumbles in drunk :lol:"
So... I pick up a copy of the paper about 20 mins ago and read this shit...
http://www.linktgf.com/images2/drinking.jpg
So, now... I have 3 calls from the Dean of Students and my roommate also has messages from her and she scheduled me a meeting based on my class schedule (for my convienience, apparently) - I'll be put under the guillotine at 3 pm - wish me luck..
In any case, don't newspapers have a responsibilty to withhold damaging information that could get someone in trouble, ya know, something like this?
Toucan
09-08-2006, 11:46 AM
ahhhhh fuck, what a wanker.
This is gonna be nasty mate.
Kingscrab
09-08-2006, 11:47 AM
Did you specifically tell them not to publish your name?
LinkTheGameFreak
09-08-2006, 11:51 AM
Did you specifically tell them not to publish your name?
Since he was polling a few people, I figured he was doing a statistical study (like, "of the 20 people I interviewed, 7 said they had problems with drinking")
In any case, if a newspaper prints something damaging like that, isn't that libel (even if they withhold his name, the dean still knows he's my roommate) because he can get in trouble?
The_Maker
09-08-2006, 12:10 PM
Wow, man... best of luck at 3 today Link. :(
Kingscrab
09-08-2006, 12:41 PM
In any case, if a newspaper prints something damaging like that, isn't that libel (even if they withhold his name, the dean still knows he's my roommate) because he can get in trouble? No idea. I suspect that if you willingly make comments and give them them your name, they probably have the right to use that info though. If you would have said something like : "Leave my name out... but here's what I think..." then you'd have some ammo.
Even so, unless your roomate is caught in the act, I doubt they can punish him on rumors alone. You can always spin it and say you were just joking or something, and see where that gets you.
I don't think it's some huge revelation to school admins that university students get drunk a lot. At least I hope it's not!
GrassDragon
09-08-2006, 1:15 PM
Wow, that's pretty intense dude. Reporters are such assholes. The best of luck to you this afternoon, I think you'll need it.
Toucan
09-08-2006, 1:23 PM
Good lesson for us all, don't tell reporters your name.
GenocideAlive
09-08-2006, 2:38 PM
Kiss my ass, they can't do shit to you. Freedom of the press, freedom of speech--suck it you fucktards. If they don't like it, tough fucking titty. You should have denied the meeting and told the Dean that it's not a good time for you and if they want to talk to you, contact you ahead of time. You're not anybody's bitch because you spoke your opinion to a reporter.
Well, it sounds like they've twisted your words, in the way you've posted this. If you never said those things (your paraphrasing in the first bit of text made it sound NOTHING like the article) then yeah, I'm sure you can get them for libel. If, however, that was what you said, I'm not so sure.
However, GA is right, if you just said what was wrong with the school, you have the right, the Dean should be punishing the culprits, not shooting the messenger.
The reporter sounded like a totally sensationalist bastard though. Shame journalists aren't fair game. They banned fox hunting in Britain. I think it should be replaced with Sensationalist Journalist hunting :D
BlackHawk
09-08-2006, 3:03 PM
Woah, that sucks bigtime. I can imagine how akward it will be for you with your roommate and others in school now. Good luck with the meeting; however, as GA and others have said, the Dean shouldn't have any problem with you. You gave your opinion on a matter, it's not like you were the one participating in it.
Protosschick99
09-08-2006, 3:08 PM
Dude that SUCKS >.<
Hopefully no one will hate you for ratting them out :[
I shall definately keep you in prayer....Something like this happened to me back in highschool--But I did it intentionally, lolz :P
LinkTheGameFreak
09-08-2006, 3:57 PM
me and my roommate went to see the dean together once I broke the news to him and we talked to her and her media advisors for about 20 mins and smoothed everything over and explained that what I told the reporter was an embellished anecdote... still kinda sucks though cuz IMO that kind of thing should be on the reporters list of things to not disclose
LinkTheGameFreak
09-08-2006, 4:03 PM
Kiss my ass, they can't do shit to you. Freedom of the press, freedom of speech--suck it you fucktards. If they don't like it, tough fucking titty. You should have denied the meeting and told the Dean that it's not a good time for you and if they want to talk to you, contact you ahead of time. You're not anybody's bitch because you spoke your opinion to a reporter.
true, I did figure that even if they did decide any disciplinary action for my roommate, it wouldn't be any if all because it was a comment in a paper, not actual evidence
That having been said, the reason the dean called us both was because she was concerned for both me and my roommate, anticipating us to receive negative backlash from the article from other students so she let us know her door was always open :)
She has been pretty good the past 2 years, in my experience, I was just concerned that she was going to come down on my roommate and that it would be my fault for not being more careful when talking to the press
bluemicrobyte
09-09-2006, 4:32 AM
me and my roommate went to see the dean together once I broke the news to him and we talked to her and her media advisors for about 20 mins and smoothed everything over and explained that what I told the reporter was an embellished anecdote... still kinda sucks though cuz IMO that kind of thing should be on the reporters list of things to not disclose
That having been said, the reason the dean called us both was because she was concerned for both me and my roommate, anticipating us to receive negative backlash from the article from other students so she let us know her door was always open :)
It's good to know that you have deans that are understanding about things like this. In response to the article, wow. That is all I have to say. Reporters are evil and will twist anything anyone says to write an interesting story. This is why I prefer live broadcasted news as opposed to written news.
Schwitzer
09-09-2006, 5:19 AM
Your Dean sounds like a very decent person, and clearly has a bit of sense about how universities and the press operate.
Chalk it up to experience; if you ever speak to the press you should be very careful with your words. Even so, misquoting or writing deceptive articles is not covered by freedom of the press; that's libel. The provision is that what they report must be factual. Otherwise the press would be free to say whatever they damned well please without fear of prosecution. :/
I believe a (quite correct) Scott Adams quote is in order :).
You say: Our company is skilled in many other things that are never reported by the biased media.
Media reports: Our company __ _killed __ m___ other t_____ ____ ___ ___er ________ __ __e ___s__ ____a.
LinkTheGameFreak
09-09-2006, 12:46 PM
I believe a (quite correct) Scott Adams quote is in order :).
You say: Our company is skilled in many other things that are never reported by the biased media.
Media reports: Our company killed mother teresa.
:)
That's what it feels like :(
PrestonBurke
09-09-2006, 9:03 PM
Erm... is it me or did the reporters say something tottaly differnt that what you told them???
You said its a Dry Campus and there arent a lot of drinkers, just a few like your roommate who ONLy gets drunk if he or she spends the weekend at some other place.
What they said was that there were a lot of drinkers at a Dry Campus.
Or did i tottaly mis-read everything?
LinkTheGameFreak
09-10-2006, 3:15 AM
Erm... is it me or did the reporters say something tottaly differnt that what you told them???
You said its a Dry Campus and there arent a lot of drinkers, just a few like your roommate who ONLy gets drunk if he or she spends the weekend at some other place.
What they said was that there were a lot of drinkers at a Dry Campus.
Or did i tottaly mis-read everything?
I had said that I know that although it's a dry campus, that it's surprising so many people drink on campus, at the frats and such
Spartan-II
09-10-2006, 3:24 AM
Tell them you have something they can suck on if they don't like what you said. GA put it perfectly, freedom of speech.
You're gonna catch shit though, anytime you talk to the press, demand them to withhold your name.
GrassDragon
09-10-2006, 7:28 AM
I would just never talk to the press unless it's absolutely necessary. It seems that whenever people talk to reporters they get their words twisted around.
Indeed, over here we have what's known as trial by press. Basically, the press say someone is guitly and the nation decides evidence isn't required.
Most journalists aren't interested in news, they are interested in reporting sensationalist stories that fly off the shelves and get them the credit from their boss that they can only usually accrue by sleeping with said editor, gender regardless.
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