Thursday, January 3, 2008

SHALIZA'S "SCOOP"?

Shaliza Hassanali of the Guardian has what looks like a great scoop on Thursday's front page: "High Commissioner to London living in fear; Plot to ‘destroy’ Glenda revealed".
(http://guardian.co.tt/news13.html)

In the first three quarters of the story she gives juicy details of the alleged plot, including an interview with Ashton Forde of the High Commission in London.

But close to the end of the story, she writes "Forde said the letter was dispatched to media houses and embassies in the Caribbean and Minister Gopee-Scoon in a bid to “tarnish and destroy Morean-Philllip’s (sic) good name.”
A copy of the letter was faxed to the Guardian’s office at 2.41 am yesterday."

So Shaliza, you and your editor are happy to give your readers the impression this was a scoop which you uncovered through some diligent investigative reporting when it was in fact a "press release" which you just happened to print first?
Steups!