hoaxed?

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Recently,  Dan Billings raised an important point about how easy it is to 
hoax the TV networks (could apply to radio too, sad to say).  As you all 
remember, when that Egyptian limo driver shot and killed two 
Israeli-Americans at the Los Angeles Airport, rumours began flying 
immediately. One report on CNN said the guy was a disgruntled ex-airline 
employee-- because a person claiming to be an eye witness got on the air 
and said he heard the shooter shouting "Artie stole my job."  If you are in 
fact a Howard Stern fan, you know that phrase comes from Howard's show, but 
the CNN person didn't realise this till it was too late.  As the plug for 
Howard got made, the alleged eye witness was abruptly cut off; Howard's 
listeners evidently think these hoaxes are hilarious. (You would think CNN 
would have checked first and aired the person afterwards, but noooo.)   I 
guess in the world of instant communication, it's considered best to get 
the person on the air ASAP, accurate or not.  Unfortunately, the story of 
the alleged eye witness continued to be quoted and re-quoted by other media 
sources all day and into the evening as if it were a fact -- the LA Times, 
Ha'aretz, and CNN International even said that an "eye witness" had heard 
the shooter saying somebody had stolen his job.

I have corresponded off list with several folks at the networks about how 
such hoaxes can occur, and I want to write an article about it for a media 
ethics journal.  Does anyone on this list have first-hand or reliable 
information about a time when your station was hoaxed by somebody?  Of 
course, the most egregious hoax I can think of was when then-WAAF team Opie 
and Anthony reported that the mayor of Boston had been killed in a car 
accident.  I guess they thought that was quite funny, but Mayor Menino's 
family was not amused, especially since the family thought it was true and 
they panicked till they found out it was just a hoax.  In an era when 
nothing is sacred, do you think such hoaxes are becoming more common, and 
should there be any consequences?  So far, it seems the people who 
encourage these 'jokes' are regarded quite favourably by the audience and 
the sponsors:  Howard is making more money than you and I will ever see, 
and while O&A were fired, they were quickly hired for a high-paying gig in 
New York City.  Your comments are appreciated and will not be quoted 
without your permission.