Great Moments In Journalism

SDA gets results!

A quote attributed to Don Cherry that The Canadian Press included in a list of some of the year's most memorable quotes was in fact "made up" by a Toronto-based blogger, the news agency acknowledged Friday.

The quote — "This just proves what a nation of pussies we are" — was said to be Cherry reacting to news of Canada's declining crime rate.

In fact, Cherry never uttered the words.

[...]

The fact the quote was itself being quoted was brought to the attention of the news agency, and to Bradley himself, by blogger Kate McMillan, who had been alerted to it by a reader on her "Small Dead Animals" blog.

"I called him and asked him and he said, 'Yeah, I just made it up,'" said McMillan, from Delisle, Sask.

"It's something that we have to watch for as bloggers all the time, especially those of us that are high traffic and have a point of view."

McMillan said she appreciated the fact that The Canadian Press responded to her call by immediately taking steps to report its error.

"Sometimes we do this and we get nothing but silence or resistance," she said.

Original post continues below:

SDA reader Chris, in the comments;


Canadian Press "reporter" Linda Shearman has filed a story on the most "infamous" Canadian quotes in 2011. #1 on the list is this:

"This just proves what a nation of p*ssies we are." — Don Cherry on news that Canada's murder rate is at its lowest since the 1960s.

PROBLEM: Cherry never said this.

It appears on a blog post at http://www.andrewbradley.ca/?p=1819 and from the context, it is clear that it's satire, i.e., a fictional, made-up quote, not something that Don Cherry ever said.

This story has been picked up by Global and the Globe and Mail, among other sites online. But as yet, no one seems to have picked up on the fact their supposedly most infamous quote of 2011 is not something Don Cherry ever said.


I called the Canadian Press about this, and talked to Linda Shearman, who wrote the story. She's promised to check that the quote is legitimate and get back to me. But I did ask her if it made any sense that Don Cherry would make such a statement in response to a falling murder rate? I read her the entire passage, including the passage about bayonets.

"Do you ever listen to him?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"He says some pretty outrageous things." she replied.

"Sure, he has his views about hockey, but do you really think Don Cherry would be in favour of a higher murder rate? Does that even make sense?"

She stated was sure she picked it up from other news stories. I pointed out that, given the practice of reporters eating each other's turds, wasn't it possible that someone else had picked it up from a satire site before she recycled it as fact?

Because I couldn't find a source on Google that predates the satire.

She said she'd check it out. I suggested she contact Don Cherry.

Because I called Andrew Bradley. He says he just made it up.

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