Not trying to sidetrack this thread, but it's relevant, very relevant (on more than one level).
Ian Faith was played by English satirist Tony Hendra. Well regarded in comedy circles, his life has not been without controversy. In the mid 2000's, he wrote a book called "Father Joe", a sort of memoir talking about his (Tony's) salvation of sorts. Great book, suggested reading for those interested (relevance point one, "Spinal Tap"). Immediately following it, though, his daughter from his first marriage wrote an Op-ed to the New York Times basically saying "well, your 'salvation' is awesome, except you molested me as a kid and need to come clean." (relevance point two, given recent accusations against Spacey, others).
Rather than just publish the op-ed - which they could have done, with the copout caveat "the opinions contained herein, blah blah blah, of course all parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, blah blah blah" - they sent an investigative reporter to look further into the story (relevant point three, conscience and due diligence in reporting; how novel!). He spoke with most if not all of the relevant parties, including therapists that treated the daughter, and ultimately concluded that there was fire with the smoke and something happened. The Times published that piece, along with Hendra's adamant denials. Later, Daniel Okrent - well-known journalist and editor, and Times Ombudsman at the time - published a comment of his own, expressing serious misgivings about the publication of the investigative piece. He wrote, in part, "doesn't the small chance that it's false outweigh the value of giving readers access to the private miseries of the Hendra family?... Tony Hendra will bear the scars of this article forever... [and people] who did not write a book claiming spiritual salvation will suffer as well...There's a difference between the right to know and the need to know, and in this case, the need escapes me." (relevance point four; putting these types of accusations in perspective).
You need not agree, but it is an interesting look into how these things can be handled differently than they are in our current sensationalistic press.
Topic: The greatest of Nigel Tufnel (Read 2204 times)