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This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

thisamericanlife.org

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Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#81

Post by beatle »

ilamont wrote: post #70
tptacek wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Daisey responds: "It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity". Calling to mind Jack Shafer (now at Reuters, formally Slate's media critic) on the problematic nature of narrative journalism: http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2012/03/14/dismantling-t...

An M.O. of many fabricators in the world of journalism is to first claim the source(s) can't be tracked down, and then to claim artistic license (this happened with Mike Barnicle of the Boston Globe in the late 1990s, and I recall seeing similar incidents at the New York Times and one of the Chicago papers over the years as well). Plagiarism is another problem area for publishers, but their excuse is often along the…

I hope you enjoyed your 5-min of fame Mike Daisey because your reputation is now completely and irrevocably ruined.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#82

Post by eli »

evan_ wrote: post #64
easterisle wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to know! Just wondered if there were any interesting connections here... This American Life is carried on NPR, funded by Bill Gates, doing a hit piece on Apple Factories (which are also Microsoft factories, but this isn't the Agony and Ecstasy of Bill Gates). Definitely there are some financial connections involved given that as you said This American Life is carried on NPR stations but I don't think there was a…

This American Life is NOT carried on NPR. NPR is not a radio station. Furthermore, The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has no connection to Microsoft, and even if it did, it would make no sense for Microsoft to put out a hit on Apple by way of Foxconn: Foxconn makes a lot of hardware for Microsoft.

And further furthermore, corporate underwriters do not get to pick the stories covered.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#83

Post by tptacek »

chrisrhoden wrote: post #77
protomyth wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NPR has had a bit of bad run in general lately, the Native American adoption story from South Dakota was pretty much wrong (proof was in the budgets).

This American Life is not an NPR program.

Marketplace is.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#84

Post by protomyth »

chrisrhoden wrote: post #77
protomyth wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NPR has had a bit of bad run in general lately, the Native American adoption story from South Dakota was pretty much wrong (proof was in the budgets).

This American Life is not an NPR program.

Sorry, it only airs on NPR around here and their site says "This American Life is produced by Chicago Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International."

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#85

Post by aklemm »

klenwell wrote: post #16
mmaunder wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel very bad for this american life because they're brilliant. Extremely unfortunate. I have noticed a drum beating on NPR since the piece aired regarding Apple's working conditions, on the news and the various podcasts. Will be interesting to watch for a change in tone.

The follow-up airing this weekend sounds more interesting than the original piece, which I didn't even finish. Daisey's whole approach just struck me as slapdash and self-indulgent. I find the Planet Money team's approach (whose stories are often featured on This American Life) much more insightful.

This describes his work well. Just go back and read the book that made him semi-famous: 21 Dog Years, Doing Time at Amazon.com

I can't figure out how he's been able to keep a career going. Maybe this will--mercifully--be the end of it all.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#86

Post by tptacek »

protomyth wrote: post #84
chrisrhoden wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This American Life is not an NPR program.

Sorry, it only airs on NPR around here and their site says "This American Life is produced by Chicago Public Radio and distributed by Public Radio International."

NPR and your local public radio station are two different things. Everyone acts like they aren't (I never say "I'm putting on WBEZ"; I say "I'm putting on NPR"), but in reality, your local public radio station is a separate entity that buys content from NPR and PRI.

This is usually a distinction without a difference, but when it comes to evaluating the standards and practices of a particular show, it helps to know who actually has oversight.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#87

Post by megaduck »

tptacek wrote: post #34
megaduck wrote: post #22

What's really tragic here is that the truth in Mr. Daisey's story will get dragged down by the weight of his lies. Chinese factory conditions are often horrible, and there's often a blatant disregard for human life and dignity. Mr. Daisey did a pretty good job of conveying these ideas in a way that well-heeled westerners could understand at a gut level. However, his pursuit of storytelling over journalism is going to…

What "truth" in his story? How do you know? The most dangerous thing you can do with a story like this is try to pick apart the things that seem true; your brain is wired to make the wrong things seem authentic.

I know because I've seen it. My wife and I used to live in China, and we did traveling in both the high and the low places.

I can't speak to the particulars in Daisey's story (since I don't know which ones were made up), but the overall picture he painted sounded familiar. It's unquestionable that there are horrible working conditions in Chinese factories.

That's the tragedy here. There's millions of awful wonderful horrible stories you can tell about Chinese factories, and Mike Daisey is obscuring them by making up his own.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#88

Post by tptacek »

grabastic wrote: post #78
tptacek wrote: post #2

I'm a Chicago Public Radio member and just got this in my email. Wow: I’m writing to tell you that tonight, This American Life and Marketplace will reveal that a story that we broadcast on This American Life this past January contained significant fabrications. We’re retracting that story because we can’t vouch for its truth, and this weekend's episode of our show will detail the errors in the story, which was an exc…

Thanks for posting the email. I'm a Chicago Public Radio member, too, but I didn't get an email. I'd certainly like to be on this list... checking spam folders now...

I think this is the one time I've ever gotten mail from it that I wanted, if that saves you some time.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#89

Post by guelo »

evan_ wrote: post #38

I predict that the anti-Apple movement will say that the story was mostly true as told, and any denials by the Chinese interpreter were politically motivated, forced by Foxconn and the Chinese government.

It's a movement? That seems a little over the top.

Re: This American Life Retracting "Mr. Daisey & The Apple Factory"

#90

Post by tptacek »

megaduck wrote: post #87
tptacek wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What "truth" in his story? How do you know? The most dangerous thing you can do with a story like this is try to pick apart the things that seem true; your brain is wired to make the wrong things seem authentic.

I know because I've seen it. My wife and I used to live in China, and we did traveling in both the high and the low places. I can't speak to the particulars in Daisey's story (since I don't know which ones were made up), but the overall picture he painted sounded familiar. It's unquestionable that there are horrible working conditions in Chinese factories. That's the tragedy here. There's millions of awful wonderful…

Your story would be a lot more valuable than Daisey's, which is worthless.
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