Been threatened with legal action :(

I agree, best to write to the mag, correct the inaccuracies/omissions and ask for them to write an apology.

Journalists and editors do tend to over-edit and often can't read their notes, my mother had never been to South Africa but was once reported in the lcoal paper to be South African born (Kent actually), and they chopped 4 years off her age, and she was supposedly a librarian or something (actually a solicitor). Caused much amusement amongst her friends
 
I have a copy of the magazine and article if you want it you are more than welcome to it - I can scan it at work tomorrowand email it to you or post it to you.

Just PM me if you want it :)

I recognised your picture in the magazine and it did read as your friend said unfortunately
 
In my former profession I was quoted in the press quite regularly & incidents I was dealing with were reported on. Unfortunately I invariably found that the press rarely let the truth stand in the way of a good story. There were many occasions when I read an article & actually wondered if it was the same incident I was dealing with. Likewise quotes appeared to be made up at random without my having said them.

The press know that action is rarely taken regarding liabel or slander as it is so incredibly expensive to pursue so they know they are virtually immune from any action. If their editor actually decides to print a retraction you will find in in small print & tucked away in a corner of some insignificant page. This is annoying when the actual offending article was printed with large headlines & took up a couple or more pages & was something that helped sell the paper.

It got to a point where I refused to talk to the press & others in my department did the same. It didn't bother us at all but the local press really suffered as they had very little of any significance to bolster the contents of their 'rag'.

The moral of the story is don't trust the press, don't trust a word they say. You can always tell when a reporter is telling lies 'It's as soon as you see their lips move'!
 
Write to the old YO and say they had misquoted you totally, and explain what you have said above. Be polite, firm, and stand your ground.
It will be an empty threat I reckon, as taking legal action means getting to court where a barrister is a minimum of £1000 a day.
The press definitely make things up, I was once quoted in the national press yet my only words to the journalists' camped in our drive were "Sorry, Miss G is a very private person and would not wish me to comment"
The b**ers made up whole paragraphs I was supposed to have said...
Doubt contacting the mag will do anything, I'd just tell YO the truth and leave it at that, saying you are sorry if she was offended but it wasn't your fault.
 
CaveCanem said:
Sorry for going OT, DG and sorry you have had such a bad experience but I don't think any profession gets slagged off so much on these forums.

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Click to expand...

Except for livery yard owners maybe?:rolleyes::rolleyes:

OP, a few years ago H&H mag did an article about us terrible livery yard owners, and someone I had asked to leave my yard did a great slagging off job on me:( I wasn't named, but because everyone in Hampshire new the livery, it didn't take long for them to work out it was me she was talking about.

Fortunately, everyone also knew how awful the woman in question was, so I got more sympathy than anything else, but I can see how your old YO might be feeling a bit annoyed about it.

Writing to the mag and writing to the YO so she knows you are doing something about it and you are not happy is a good way to try and calm her down. Do talk to her as well, there is nothing like good one to one communication to sort out a problem:)
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
You can always tell when a reporter is telling lies 'It's as soon as you see their lips move'!
Click to expand...

Wow. I thought I had a thick skin and perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but well done, you have really upset me today.

Thanks so much, I am sorry I gave the OP friendly advice about how to proceed now, because in the eyes of you and the majority of other posters on this thread, I am obviously a lying cow.

I don't think I will come in the NL any more, in other areas of the forum I am actually treated like a human being.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
The moral of the story is don't trust the press, don't trust a word they say. You can always tell when a reporter is telling lies 'It's as soon as you see their lips move'!
Click to expand...

How's that for a bit of rampant generalisation, eh! You get bad reporters just as you get bad accountants, farmers, doctors, teachers, lawyers etc. Doesn't mean the whole profession are the same. :cool:
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
In my former profession I was quoted in the press quite regularly & incidents I was dealing with were reported on. Unfortunately I invariably found that the press rarely let the truth stand in the way of a good story. There were many occasions when I read an article & actually wondered if it was the same incident I was dealing with. Likewise quotes appeared to be made up at random without my having said them.

The press know that action is rarely taken regarding liabel or slander as it is so incredibly expensive to pursue so they know they are virtually immune from any action. If their editor actually decides to print a retraction you will find in in small print & tucked away in a corner of some insignificant page. This is annoying when the actual offending article was printed with large headlines & took up a couple or more pages & was something that helped sell the paper.

It got to a point where I refused to talk to the press & others in my department did the same. It didn't bother us at all but the local press really suffered as they had very little of any significance to bolster the contents of their 'rag'.

The moral of the story is don't trust the press, don't trust a word they say. You can always tell when a reporter is telling lies 'It's as soon as you see their lips move'!
Click to expand...

Interesting. If I behaved the way you say ALL journalists do, I wouldn't have been able to make a living. I've been a business journalist for the last 15 years because I cultivated contacts who give me the heads up on stories and who I can always depend upon for a comment as deadlines are looming. They talk to me because they know they can depend on me to behave with high professional standards. Because I am good at what I do I get to pay a mortgage and keep horses. Of course there are disreputable publications and journalists out there, but they don't tend to last. If your job involves dealing with the press and you don't take the time to check out who you speak to before making comments representing your organisation, that is anything but professional.

I also think its interesting that most of you have had problems with your local papers. The standards of journalism is often low on these papers - ever asked yourselves why? Its because few publishers have an editorial background. They give the lions share of the wages and the respect to sales teams while treating the people who actually create the product like dirt. Low wages and a miserable atomosphere to work in means they only get untrained young staff and anyone with any talent leaves. Thanks to the rise of 'citizen journalism' most of these publishers now think they should get content for free. How many members of Joe Public can string a coherent sentence together much less be bothered to put the work into research, fact checking or grasping the basics of libel law? Money talks and if YOU don't value the product, what makes you think it will get any better? And for those of you who think that media is worthless, try remembering that some people are being imprisoned and even killed in less tolerant societies for trying to create an independent media. And if it doesn't live up to your high expectations just remember that society gets the media and the prisons it deserves.
 
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