I hope readers will forgive me as I breast-beat a bit as to why newspapers are crucial to the health of our republic.
What prompts this is an e-mail I received the other day from a good friend. "Worth reading and forwarding," the message urged. So, I read it but refused to forward it.
The e-mail had been forwarded quite a bit by the time I got it. That meant large numbers of citizens were receiving an inane rumor that the University of Kentucky had "removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population, which claims it never occurred."
Well, there was some accuracy in that statement. There are, sadly, Muslims who contend the Holocaust never happened. But what about the rest of that statement? Could it be true that a university would do such a thing? As an American and as a Jew, I would be more than offended; I would be outraged.
So I checked. It's easy to do these days, given that the same technology that produces e-mails enables us to quickly do research. I found a news release from the University of Kentucky denying the allegation.
"The Judaic Studies Program of the University of Kentucky, in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences Department of History, offers a course designated as History 323: The Holocaust." By the way, further checking shows that the university also offers courses in Islamic Studies.
The news release quoted an assistant provost, Richard B. Greissman, that the university "would never permit such a grotesque lapse in its commitment to the principle of academic freedom. Let us bury this rumor."
How then did such a story get started?
There is on the Internet something called "Snopes.com," which describes itself as "The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors and misinformation."
Snopes explains the rumor began not in Kentucky, but in the other UK, as in United Kingdom, as in Great Britain. Last April, British newspapers inaccurately reported that the nation's schools were dropping Holocaust studies because they feared Muslim pupils would be offended. But only one school had done so.
Snopes is right. When I checked some British newspapers, I found that sloppy reporting.
By September, Snopes reports, in e-mails circulating here and there, the UK became the University of Kentucky. It is unclear who originally did this and whether it was just an error or an attempt at propaganda.
What prompts this is an e-mail I received the other day from a good friend. "Worth reading and forwarding," the message urged. So, I read it but refused to forward it.
The e-mail had been forwarded quite a bit by the time I got it. That meant large numbers of citizens were receiving an inane rumor that the University of Kentucky had "removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Muslim population, which claims it never occurred."
Well, there was some accuracy in that statement. There are, sadly, Muslims who contend the Holocaust never happened. But what about the rest of that statement? Could it be true that a university would do such a thing? As an American and as a Jew, I would be more than offended; I would be outraged.
So I checked. It's easy to do these days, given that the same technology that produces e-mails enables us to quickly do research. I found a news release from the University of Kentucky denying the allegation.
"The Judaic Studies Program of the University of Kentucky, in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences Department of History, offers a course designated as History 323: The Holocaust." By the way, further checking shows that the university also offers courses in Islamic Studies.
The news release quoted an assistant provost, Richard B. Greissman, that the university "would never permit such a grotesque lapse in its commitment to the principle of academic freedom. Let us bury this rumor."
How then did such a story get started?
There is on the Internet something called "Snopes.com," which describes itself as "The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors and misinformation."
Snopes explains the rumor began not in Kentucky, but in the other UK, as in United Kingdom, as in Great Britain. Last April, British newspapers inaccurately reported that the nation's schools were dropping Holocaust studies because they feared Muslim pupils would be offended. But only one school had done so.
Snopes is right. When I checked some British newspapers, I found that sloppy reporting.
By September, Snopes reports, in e-mails circulating here and there, the UK became the University of Kentucky. It is unclear who originally did this and whether it was just an error or an attempt at propaganda.
So, what do we have so far? We have glaring examples of why everyone should be careful of what they read on their computer and the failure of British newspapers to report accurately. On the other hand, we see how the same Internet enables us to get the real story, thanks, in this case, to Snopes.
The obvious lesson to those addicted to their computers, and that includes millions of students doing research, is to understand that simply because something appears on the screen, it does not follow that it's to be believed. If it looks the slightest bit suspicious, check it out.
That leads me to the chest thumping that I had promised and for which I again ask forgiveness.
American newspapers are as imperfect an institution as are the private, public and nonprofit sectors, the military, religious denominations and your local Elks or Rotary. Journalism is less a science than an art form. It is, however, a profession, a trade crucial to good citizenship.
We who have spent our lives in it and those just starting out as reporters share a commitment to reporting, within the time and space available, that which we believe is important for you readers to know, whether it's the school committee meetings of Merrimack Valley and North Shore communities or the latest twists and turns of the war in Iraq.
That entails interviews, research and fact-checking. There are times we fail, but we keep trying. That commitment does not seem to exist for too many of the Internet users, be they bloggers, self-appointed journalists or propagandists.
When you add to this the cutbacks that have occurred in local and national television coverage and factor in the loudmouth nuttiness that one hears on radio, you might conclude, as I have, that newspapers, even with staff cuts and space limits, are the last, best hope for informing the citizenry.
nnn
Alan Lupo, a veteran Boston columnist who appears regularly on these pages, can be reached at alupo@comcast.net.
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