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February 09, 2007
What Really Happened?
It's almost as though trends are now happening en masse. Today, I ran into the following headline on the AP wire...
KILL: Astronaut movie story - one hour ago
The content of the link was…
LOS ANGELES _ Please delete the Arrested-Astronaut-Movie story from your systems. The New York Times says neither the newspaper nor its reporter has or plans a deal with Granada.
And the story, which the wire service posted about an hour earlier was…
Tale of arrested astronaut optioned for movie
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — You knew this was coming. The strange saga of the astronaut who traveled 900 miles to allegedly try to murder a rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut will be turned into a movie.
Granada America has optioned the film rights to a New York Times article on Lisa Nowak, 43, who was arrested Monday and charged with attempted murder.
Nowak, a Navy captain and mother of three, wore diapers during her trip so she wouldn't have to stop for bathroom breaks. Once in Orlando, she confronted Colleen Shipman, whom she believed was involved in a relationship with Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, a space shuttle pilot.
Nowak brought with her a trench coat, a wig, a BB gun and pepper spray.
Granada America, which has produced made-for-TV films based on other real-life personalities, optioned a Times article written by reporter John Schwartz, who will serve as a researcher on the project.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The company said the story will be developed either for a feature or television film.
"The chronicle of Lisa Marie Nowak has had a global impact and contains almost every dramatic element possible," Granada America CEO David Gyngell said Friday. "One could not imagine a more compelling story."
Granada America is the U.S.-based production entity of ITV, one of Europe's largest broadcasters and producers. The company produced the reality series Hell's Kitchen and Nanny 911 as well as the Lifetime channel movie The Fantasia Barrino Story.
So the question is, what was the story with Granada, which apparently was the source of the original story? Will AP run an actual retraction? Will AP look into how and why the got duped? And did AP run the story prematurely - without NYT comnfirmation - because of competitive pressure?
It's one of the interesting questions in a digital world. Does withdrawing something or changing the content without noting how, when, and why a piece was adjusted make for good journalism? Does it service the reader?
Posted by poland at February 9, 2007 05:30 PM
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