More on Nothing to Hide
Chapell points out a very interesting correction at the top of this Seattle Times story:
A previous version of this story on Tukwila firefighter Lt. Philip Lyons being charged with first-degree attempted arson incorrectly stated that police reports indicated he had used his Safeway Club Card to purchase 16 fire-starters between June and August. Lyons had actually purchased only one fire-starter during that time, according to charging papers. The police report indicated that 16 fire-starters were purchased by all customers at the Safeway store where Lyons purchased his fire-starter between June and August.
Were these Safeway brand fire-starters? Did the police check only one Safeway, or every one (or every grocery store) within some distance of the fellow’s house? Did they have a warrant to get that information? Is it routinely shared by local Safeway stores?
[My earlier post on this is “Nothing to Hide, Plenty to Fear.”]
Just goes to show the inaccuracy of the media, and the danger of basing commentary on details from a news story. Almost everyone who has been involved with an event or incident that got reported will have experienced important inaccuracies in how the story came out, yet somehow we expect and believe that other stories are reported accurately.