Have you read the latest warnings on the danger of spinning reels? I’m not talking about fishing reels, I’m talking about news reels. Sorry, it’s a tortured pun to make my opening point: sometimes, it’s hard to see how our news is being spun. One tiny inaccuracy in a single news source becomes blogger bait all over the internet, used to lure unsuspecting readers to a point of view. The linkfest that follows creates a feeding frenzy like Captain Quint never saw. Then the national press pick up on the story and repeat it like so much chum – just a way to keep the fish interested – “Stay tuned for more…”
Such is the life cycle of a story currently circulating among the sportfishing crowd. It began a few months ago when someone dug deep enough into a new bureaucracy know as the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force The IOPTF has zero enforcement powers, doesn’t create laws, codes or regulations. It’s purpose is to generate recommendations to those folks that do make laws. Like elected officials. The news spinners cherry picked a few lines from memos and policy meetings, took a bunch of it out of context and proceeded to create the fear that the the Obama administration is determined to end recreational fishing. Post that on a few internet forums and soon it’s a hot topic. Pretty soon a major source like ESPN is raising concerns and posting links to organized marches on Washington. Fishermen Unite!
Much to ESPN’s chagrin, there are actually people who think the IOPTF isn’t a commie plot to end all recreational fishing and force our children to harvest wheat with sickles instead. Indeed, ESPN has just admitted as much this week- ESPNOutdoors.com: From the editor – ESPN. The Outdoors editor has to fess up that a news piece from last week might have been… well…. more chum than news. Allow me to cherry pick the best lines from his retraction:
Regrettably, we made several errors in the editing and presentation of (and)…this particular column was not properly balanced and failed to represent contrary points of view.
OOPS.
The Outdoors.com folks are pretty good journalists who are to be commended for correcting themselves. They got caught up in the excitement, and forgot to set the drag on their news reels. I forgive them. They are fishermen after all, and it’s hard for them to resist tossing out some bait when they see the fish boiling all around them.
Be careful what you fish for. To paraphrase Chief Brody from JAWS: “You’re gonna need a bigger blog.”
