Monday, April 25, 2005

What's wrong with the media!

NewsChannel 5 Network: "Tennessee Man Discovers What May Be The Deepest Cave In The Country
Posted: 4/25/2005 1:58:44 PM

A new federal parks study will map caves around the Lookout Mountain Battlefield.

That pleases caver Kent Ballew because he thinks he's found the deepest pit cave in the country, perhaps 800 feet deep.

. . .

The deepest known pit cave is in Alaska, a hole 598 feet deep.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)"


The above article (slightly abridged in an irrelevant way) demonstrates what's wrong with our media in a non-political article. The Headline drew my attention because it referred to the "Deepest Cave" in the country. When I read the article I discovered that they were talking about the "deepest pit cave" which is a horse of a different color. And they they go on to talk about the "deepest known pit cave" being in Alaska, which might just be true depending on the definition, but in fact is not "The Deepest Cave" and is not even "the deepest pit" in a cave in the US.

So we have three different definitions all applied to the same thing, which mean completely different things: Deepest cave; deepest pit cave [in the country]; and deepest pit cave [known, presumably anywhere]. All of which are essentially wrong.

And this in a short throwaway paragraph on a TV News Channel.

How do you suppose they could ever get an abstract thing like Tom Delay's morality right?

Earwicker, under the nom de plume of A. Speleothus.

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