A common and frequent phrase today. Reminds me of something in my past. While as a youngster serving in the US Navy, I was stationed in a building in Virginia, four floors above an enormous library of films, including, but not just, combat films. NBC was in the midst of producing the "Victory At Sea" TV series. We had been cautioned by the producers that we had to be accurate and could validate the footage we provided.
A request came for footage of one or more Destroyer Escorts in heavy North Atlantic seas. The producer wanted one or more ships at sea with no land in the background. I easily found film with no or southern or Pacific storms and US ships. It took me two days and a validating phone call. Someone in our office said, "What's the dif? No one can tell where the film was shot." The NBC producer responded, "we'll know."
A few years later, I was running stories for a local TV news corespondent. I handed in a teletype with an important and exciting event. The primary question became, could we verify the surrounding facts. After several hours, and the newscast time approaching, the newsman sat at his desk with the producer by his side and asked if we could verify the facts. When we could not independently verify anything except the actual event, the lead TV newsman, Harry Reasoner, said "we'll just go with the facts we have, who, what, where and when."
I believed it then, an I believe it now. Nearly all major network reporters and correspondents arereporting the truth!
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