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-Short Attention Span Theater-
MSM cover-up? "Smoglodytes" kill 36,000 in Mexico City
2005-04-30
Move over BBC and Al Reuters, this is from the most trusted name in major media, the Weekly World News.
(WWN itself is now using the slogan "America's most reliable newspaper" which could well be true given the reputation of the NYT, WaPo, and other slimey rags.)


DEADLY NEW CREATURES LIVE IN SMOG!

Health officials claim Smoglodytes have killed over 36,000 in Mexico City -- and warn: The death toll is expected to be even higher in L.A. and other large cities

By MICHAEL CHIRON Fresno, Calif.

UNIVERSITY scientists have discovered a bizarre new airborne life form that has evolved in smog -- and they warn it poses a potentially deadly health threat to all Americans.

Dubbed smoglodytes by researchers, the tiny microorganisms are now being blamed for a host of medical woes, ranging from asthma attacks and whooping cough to emphysema. Yet astonishingly, the federal government is taking a hands-off approach to the creatures and the White House has labeled scientists' report on the startling February 22 discovery "classified."

University scientists, eh? Practically as good as The Lancet.
WWN, unlike other major outlets, actually recognizes the possibility of fabrication and is even running a "Guess the Fake Story" contest right now.

To prove their credentials and popularity among the intellectual elite, WWN runs a list of Top 10 visiting Universities in the site stats on their (homepage). Currently:
1. University of Missouri
2. University of Michigan
3. University of Maryland
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
5. Stanford
6. Purdue
7. Arizona State University
8. Georgia Tech
9. UCLA
10. University of Texas, Austin

(U of Missouri is consistently at or near the top of this list. They don't call it the "Show Me State" for nothing.)
Posted by:

#6  aha ....a pragmatist in journo clothing? Dean's that tool from the WaPo huh? Genevieve Overholser or something....too lazy to google her, but I remember her tantrum
Posted by: Frank G   2005-04-30 4:34:34 PM  

#5  It is for a journalism student who wants a good job when they get out. The "Mizzou Mafia" helps them out. That, though, is a minefield. The son avoids certain topics as the dean was dowager of the US journalist for ages and quit being dowager when a "slimy right wing Fox punk" was awarded something....

Tightrope for a bit longer and then he can earn some money.
Posted by: 3dc   2005-04-30 4:18:01 PM  

#4  being a premiere journalism school isn't something to be proud of
Posted by: Frank G   2005-04-30 3:26:11 PM  

#3  WWN holds a fascination for journalists and writers, and for students of those subjects. The late Carl Sagan reportedly subscribed to WWN. My own long-running interest in this publication is another example. It is, in all seriousness, a cautionary illustration of just what is and is not possible, and of how fragile the boundaries might be. Within the relatively tight limits of libel and slander, there is no law against inventing news out of whole cloth.

Among the general public, there is a vague but seldom-questioned perception that such a law or other external authority prevents the outright fabrication and distortion of news. There is really no such thing, of course, just the internal ethical controls and the market forces provided by review and fact-checking.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2005-04-30 2:58:35 PM  

#2  I should point out that Mizzou is the #1 premire journalism school in the US and maybe the world.
Posted by: 3dc   2005-04-30 2:18:16 PM  

#1  As the son is a journalism student as Mizzou (U of Missouri) he would say its only natural. They do scan everything.

Imagine thousands of young want-a-be journalists looking for a story to put on their resume.
Posted by: 3dc   2005-04-30 2:17:21 PM  

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