Collecting News Fails: How Not to Report on Airplanes

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SUMMARY

This discussion highlights the frequent inaccuracies in aviation reporting, specifically focusing on a CNN article that confused the Airbus A380 with the A320. The error stemmed from a lack of knowledge among reporters, leading to the inclusion of a stock marketing video for the A320 in a news cluster about the A380. Such reporting fails are not isolated incidents; they occur across various reputable news outlets, including the BBC. The thread serves as a collection of these media missteps, emphasizing the importance of accuracy in journalism.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of aviation terminology, specifically Airbus A380 and A320 models.
  • Familiarity with media reporting standards and practices.
  • Knowledge of how news clusters are formatted and presented online.
  • Awareness of the impact of misinformation in journalism.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the differences between the Airbus A380 and A320 models.
  • Explore best practices for accurate aviation reporting.
  • Investigate the role of media ethics in journalism.
  • Learn about the implications of misinformation in news media.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for journalists, media professionals, aviation enthusiasts, and anyone interested in understanding the importance of accuracy in news reporting.

russ_watters
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I often post news fails because the media annoys me, so I think I'll start collecting them into one thread. Here's a doozy I saw today on CNN.com :

A3Whut.jpg


Here's how this happens:
Step 1: Two interesting stories about the Airbus A380 happen in 24 hours, which lends itself to a cluster format, with a picture.
Step 2: Someone who knows a little less than nothing about airplanes or names makes a typo or otherwise confuses an A380 with an A320.
Step 3: Needing a third "story" to properly format their news cluster, they pull a stock marketing video from Airbus for the A320 and slap it into the cluster.
Step 4: Profit!

Per unit mass, some reporter or website editor was wrong by 694%!

[Mod note: This thread is intended to be a light-hearted place for posting news fails such as typos and gaffes, in a similar spirit to the "Funny Pictures..." thread in the Current Events" forum. Please keep it tasteful and do not start any political arguments. Thanks.]
 
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It's a shame, yes. Unfortunately this is more common than it is rare. I've seen it on almost all news channels, including such serious ones as BBC. The A320 as well as the B-737 are the cash cows of their companies.
 
No news fail thread is complete without some classic videos! Warning some of these are moderately NSFW (language slips).



 
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russ_watters said:
Step 4: Profit!
Thats what its all about, nothing else matters, not even accuracy. (good thread by the way)
 
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