It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got...
More spin than a good backstroke drill:
Earlier this month, maybe a week or so ago, I read this article about the 2008 Youth Swimming Worlds. Coverage of this event, for whatever reason (maybe somewhat related to how FINA covers itself, or just how press releases in general are) has been highly biased. This caused me to comment that it had "more spin than a good backstroke drill". (If you're not a swimmer, you probably won't get that comment at all... but it's hysterical! Ok, maybe just slightly lame funny).
Anyways, the spin in the article matched what was present in the daily coverage by FINA of the meet, particularly all the "fast" swims being done, demonstrated by the meet records being set. Of course, the writer fails to point out what I deem are slightly important facts:
- that this is the 2nd meet, so the records came from one previous meet.
- the meet format was different this time, and more conducive to faster swimming.
- their quality of competition at this edition was elevated from the first edition.
- and let us not forget that there are some new, speedy suits around (LZR anyone?).
Anyways, the spin presented in that coverage reminded me of a peeve of mine: what I like to call "news from the future." There are really two types:
- news from the other side of the dateline, which comes from "tomorrow's" edition, because it's already tomorrow, in say Melbourne, Australia. (I don't really have issue with this one; it's just kinda cool. But the other...)
- when a news items is aired/published prior to the conclusion of the event it's describing.
This second type generally requires a prediction/assumption on the writer's part of what they think will happen, and seems to be all in the name of getting the news out first. (And not necessarily out accurately.)
The most common example of this second type of which I'm aware is the weekly U.S. weekend film box office tallies, that tend to be published at noon on Sunday, when most movie theaters haven't even opened for the day (Sunday's still part of the weekend, isn't it? Or has the weekend moved to start on Friday at 12:01 a.m., because that's when movies can come out?). Happens every week, and tends to be right on the main page of Yahoo et al, too....
One of my other favorite/frustrating examples happens with every election in the U.S., where the East Coast t.v. stations start predicting the results of West Coast states, sometimes hours before their polls close. (I tend to surmise this to the general notion that "our polls are closed, so there's must be".) I worry that it might effect the outcome of the voting there... and it doesn't really even address that there isn't anything to report for a few hours because things aren't done (but those 24 hours of news have to be filled somehow, and heaven forbid it be with another news story rather than the same one over and over and over...). And this doesn't really address Hawaii and Alaska, which are further still being the West Coast (but I have read about Hawaii wreaking havoc on the American Idol voting, which makes me feel a little better).
And it is a wee bit fun to read about things that haven't happened yet in the past tense... I guess. I just wish media people wouldn't be in such a rush that they couldn't go back and check their reports; or redo them (gasp) once something becomes actual. I guess the internet age heightens the visibility of this...
Which reminds me of a "shocking" news item recently seen: a fat calorie will cause equal weight gain as a "carb" calorie. Gasp! (more gasping, I know, I know). Might that be because a calorie is a unit of available energy? And when it goes unused, it gets stored as fat... (pesky nutrition, I know, I know).
Anyways, on a lighter side: do you know there's a World MiniGolf Federation????
I'm gonna soak up the sun
While it's still free
Gonna soak up the sun
Before it goes out on me
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