Media reporting of OFD Rescue
- Thread starter Chuck
- Start date
Speleotron
Member
People are very tribal these days so anything in the other side's newspaper must be evil heresy!
Alex
Well-known member
Read the article looks accurate enough, map really helps to put things in perspective. I think in this case people are just bashing for bashing sake. Though this made me chuckle
I would like to know where in a cave it's not dark lol?
Also, I don't know who it was (as I was underground at the time) but I heard some of the press were getting a bit too close to the entrance and some got a bit lost in the fog!
I think the guardian article seems a bit better written however in my view, but both have their merits.
Er guys...
Maybe this is tongue in cheek but I think this thread offered both information and concern until the successful outcome emerged. Then it has moved onto reviewing the coverage from a number of sources and picking out pieces that amuse us cavers. I don't see any bad language ruining this site. The Daily Mail only has itself to blame for the name calling. The many years Paul Dacre was editor stirred up a lot of hate such as with the famous 'enemy of the people' headline. I appreciate, David, that the Mail has covered probably more caving events than most and that now Dacre has moved on it has turned on the Tory sleaze to some extent. However, people have long memories, like the Liverpudlians with the Sun reporting of the Hillsborough tragedy. It takes a long time to be forgotten. With your guidance i'm looking forward to a Daily Mail which is at peace with the people
grahams said:
Maybe this is tongue in cheek but I think this thread offered both information and concern until the successful outcome emerged. Then it has moved onto reviewing the coverage from a number of sources and picking out pieces that amuse us cavers. I don't see any bad language ruining this site. The Daily Mail only has itself to blame for the name calling. The many years Paul Dacre was editor stirred up a lot of hate such as with the famous 'enemy of the people' headline. I appreciate, David, that the Mail has covered probably more caving events than most and that now Dacre has moved on it has turned on the Tory sleaze to some extent. However, people have long memories, like the Liverpudlians with the Sun reporting of the Hillsborough tragedy. It takes a long time to be forgotten. With your guidance i'm looking forward to a Daily Mail which is at peace with the people
PeteHall
Moderator
David Rose said:
I thought the write-up from the Mail was far better than most other reports I've seen.
Also, 90% of the comments are positive.
More generally, we should probably cut the press a little slack, they've probably never been in a cave, let alone during a major rescue, so they are trying to describe something that is totally alien to them, in terms that the general public will understand, based on a short briefing outside in the wind and rain. This doesn't forgive using a picture of Porth for example (as I believe the BBC did for a while), but if they get a bit confused about distances depths etc, we really shouldn't be too harsh.
Martin Laverty
Active member
Well, Dave, yes this article isn't bad https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10181113/Full-story-57-hour-ordeal-save-stricken-caver-Brecon-Beacons.html - but the remark about the '?9-a-night cottage near the entrance' is a new synonym for the SWCC HQ to me. I also notice that
Honours even on typos with The Grauniad though...
Yes, they speak funny in Gloucester, but a little checking may have found they actually used 'Cavelink' because it has no cabling.
Honours even on typos with The Grauniad though...
andrewmcleod
Well-known member
I also saw at least one article describing the 'Cwm door' entrance, and another saying we worked in 3 hours shifts. I mean, that would have been lovely
I'm going to be honest, the Daily Mail has a lot of historical baggage that it will have to work very hard to ever gain respectability with a lot of people, but the article in question was pretty good given the limited amount of information being given out and the nature of the rescue. Most journalists covering the incident (and indeed most people) have no idea what a cave rescue is like, and most of the reporting had some enormous misconceptions and inaccuracies in, so a few errors are inevitable (and then repeated by all the other news sources...).
The little map is somewhat simplified, but better than any other I've seen (and the 885ft below the surface thing isn't really accurate I think). And for the love of god Imperial units need to die!
Furthermore, I think the Daily Mail will reach a different section of the population to other news sources, and so good publicity and quality reporting on caving in it can only be a very good thing. Sounds weird me writing this, though...
Also I did have to use Chrome developer tools to delete the 'you are using an ad blocker' overlay and restore scrolling to the <body> element, rather than turn off my ad blocker
I'm going to be honest, the Daily Mail has a lot of historical baggage that it will have to work very hard to ever gain respectability with a lot of people, but the article in question was pretty good given the limited amount of information being given out and the nature of the rescue. Most journalists covering the incident (and indeed most people) have no idea what a cave rescue is like, and most of the reporting had some enormous misconceptions and inaccuracies in, so a few errors are inevitable (and then repeated by all the other news sources...).
The little map is somewhat simplified, but better than any other I've seen (and the 885ft below the surface thing isn't really accurate I think). And for the love of god Imperial units need to die!
Furthermore, I think the Daily Mail will reach a different section of the population to other news sources, and so good publicity and quality reporting on caving in it can only be a very good thing. Sounds weird me writing this, though...
Also I did have to use Chrome developer tools to delete the 'you are using an ad blocker' overlay and restore scrolling to the <body> element, rather than turn off my ad blocker
David Rose
Active member
The travel editor has been in touch. I've been asked to do a feature on the SWCC hut at Penwyllt as a romantic destination for (broke) couples. I hope no one will have a problem with that.
Joel Corrigan
New member
David Rose said:
In the hut last night we were talking about this; I said that I was tempted to create an AirBnB listing for SWCC in the certain knowledge that they'd be swamped with unwanted visitors that they'd have to be nice to
I was obviously joking at the time but that idea definitely has scope for development (as does the property!!!). 
Cantclimbtom
Well-known member
Maybe you could suggest they review a better more intimate and romantic getaway - plus it's ?9 a night cheaper https://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/bothies/wales/arenig-fawr/David Rose said:
Reminds me of a little incident that happened many years ago when I went to Penwyllt with the woman who is now my wife; looking for somewhere to doss down, I remarked that, since we were married, we could use the ?married quarters? . . . whereupon some bright spark piped up, ?I think you're supposed to be married to each other.?
hyweldavies
Active member
David Rose said:
To be fair I did meet my wife there
Cantclimbtom
Well-known member
This article is a one-off for their journalism. Astonishingly for the Daily Mail... they said the cause was "part of the cave collapsing" and didn't attribute any of the blame at all to the EU (or immigrants)
David Rose
Active member
I am getting seriously sick of this mindless slagging off the Mail. Apart from anything else, its editor, Geordie Greig, campaigned hard for Remain in the EU referendum as editor of its sister paper, the Mail on Sunday. He published a whole page editorial urging people to stay in the EU the week before the referendum. I followed him to the Daily because he is cut from very different cloth to his predecessor.
A young reporter, Alex Ward, has spent time getting the OFD story right. He also spent hours on the moor getting soaked so as not to miss George's successful return to the outside world. He checked the facts with me and took a lot of trouble not to make any errors. His piece in the paper today is exemplary.
I also tried to upload a screenshot of the article today but it seems to be too big. I will email it to you. Please add it to this post.
Done Pegasus
A young reporter, Alex Ward, has spent time getting the OFD story right. He also spent hours on the moor getting soaked so as not to miss George's successful return to the outside world. He checked the facts with me and took a lot of trouble not to make any errors. His piece in the paper today is exemplary.
I also tried to upload a screenshot of the article today but it seems to be too big. I will email it to you. Please add it to this post.
Done Pegasus
Speleofish
Active member
I think the problem with the Daily Mail isn't its reporters, it's the editorial policy. I think it has improved greatly since the departure of Dacre but still speaks to a constituency that is alien to many. However, the same could be said of many papers which carry their own historic baggage.