Re: This is awful

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

>Dan asked--
>Donna:  Why don't the networks learn from these incident?  I would think
>they could take steps to confirm the identity of the callers (ask for a
>number to call back, an address, and so forth) and then tape the call for
>later broadcast.  This system wouldn't be perfect and some false reports
>might still make the air but most hoaksters would back out and those that
>didn't wouldn't get their Stern references on the air.  This would at least
>discourage such callers.

Alas, the weekend and holiday shifts often have less experienced call 
screeners, and cable TV's insatiable need to get the story on the air 
quickly leads to abuses far more than it should. Also, some of the Stern 
fans pride themselves on being able to fool almost anyone--- they have 
mastered the right buzz words and it's almost like a game with them, trying 
to see how many gatekeepers they can get past.   But yes, you would think 
they would have learnt by now... I wrote an article about this for Media 
Ethics magazine several months ago...