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After Fulham, what Arsène did not say: an Untold apology
By: Anne
In my previous Untold Media article, “After Fulham. All the things the press reported but which Arsène did not say,” I made the insinuation that a certain quote by Arsène Wenger had likely been fabricated by the media. Specifically, I said that:
“For some reason, nearly every major newspaper in England appears to have published the same fabricated quote from Arsène Wenger…That is, unless I’m going temporarily deaf during the same portion of the post-match press conference over and over again…[I]t seems that any journalist who actually attended or watched the press conference would simply have to be aware that, during the conference, Arsène did not say [anything about the referee being ‘naive.’]”
I followed this comment with a list of quotes attributed to Arsène in various publications in which he called referee Lee Probert “naive,” along with the names of the journalists who published these quotes.
Immediately afterwards, I included the following qualification:
“I have watched the post-match press conference four times in a row, and…I cannot make out the word ‘naive’ anywhere. If anyone else can, please let me know, so that I can offer a full and public apology to the above journalists.”
Well, I have to give credit to Untold commenter Chad for taking me up on the above challenge, and drawing my attention to this BBC interview where Arsene did, in fact, call referee Probert “naive,” exactly as was reported (Arsene’s “naive” comment can be found at the 50 second mark):
So, in accordance with my promise in the original article, I would now like to offer a “full and public apology” to the following journalists:
- Laura Williamson of the Daily Mail
- Neil McLeman of the Mirror
- The BBC (author unattributed)
- David Hytner of the Guardian
- Antony Kastrinkis of the Sun
As the video link above clearly shows, I was completely and utterly incorrect to insinuate in my previous article that any of these journalists had published a fabricated quote from Arsene Wenger about the referee being “naive.” The truth is that Arsene did, in fact, make this statement to the BBC, and was quoted accurately. So, I’m sorry to all concerned, and I retract* the above-referenced portion of my previous article.
I also hope that any and all of these same journalists will comport themselves in a similar manner with regard to any future inaccuracies about Arsenal that might appear in their own reporting.
So, to wrap up, I once again offer my full and sincere apology to all of the above journalists. And my thanks to Chad as well, who pointed out my mistake in the comments.
*With regard to David Hytner of the Guardian and Antony Kastrinakis of the Sun, I would like to clarify that Untold Media stands by all of our other previous coverage of these journalists, aside from the specific incident referenced above.
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It takes a great person to recognise he made a mistake.
Anybody can make (honest) mistakes. But if you do and you apologise for it then that’s it. Hats of to you Anne.
And as you didn’t see the BBC interview at the time you couldn’t know it.
If you compare this with how the refs deal with their mistakes this is how it should be done.
Maybe their mistakes are not that ‘honest”… now that could be the difference
Nice.write up..i admire your style of writing about the old and new issues of Afc
well, this is the reason why this blog stands apart from many others.
No a regular poster here, but go through all the write-ups almost on a daily basis. Had to comment today as a token of appreciation for honesty.
Keep writing. Cheers..
anyone can make a mistake Anne, but not everyone cleans up afterwards. it would be fascinating to hear both the journalists and refs admit theirs. it would also be fascinating to have the journalists ask the refs a few questions after a game. or are they above questioning? if doctors can be sued for malpractice, shouldn’t we consider refs also?
To be fair, I wasn’t trying to take up the challenge, I just chanced across the interview and remembered your story 🙂
Hat’s off for the even having the consideration of posting an apology to the affected parties. It’s a higher level of integrity than I’ve seen in any journalism these days. If more people had this acceptance of responsibility, the world may be a better place.
Way to go, Anne.
Abraham Lincoln once said that ‘nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power’. I am humbled by your character in journalism Anne.
I hope these journalists and pundits also apologise for their wrong predictions and nonsense articles which they don’t.
But way to go, Anne.
Anne, your integrity is shown clearly by the fact that when you published the original article, you already considered the possibility that you may be wrong, but unaware of it. Upon discovering you were wrong, you apologized.
Let’s pray some of the scumbags you’ve exposed in previous articles are paying attention, and will learn how to do their jobs correctly from you, even though THEY should be the experts in this profession.
Anne, you have my respect. It’s just a pity you’re so honest though, because it means you can never get a column in any of the rags that reach millions more people than Untold does.
Hats off to you Anne, your integrity remains intact; unlike many of those who profess to be “experts” in the footballing circus!
Anne,
You’re a class act, and part of that is shown through your apology. Much more of your class is shown through your articles, and your replies.
There must be thousands of folk like myself – who rarely comment, but read, and thoroughly appreciate your contributions and the mass of comments they spawn.
Please continue. Your stellar efforts, along with UA’s other contributors, are wonderful.
Anne,
You realize of course that by issuing a public policy you have now crossed the line and will never be eligible for employment at The Sun, Guardian Sports, Daily M’s, etc. etc. etc. Alas, I think you should drown such sorrows in a nice magnum of champagne…
p.s. gads! sorry, should read “public apology” – in other words, you have violated their ethics policy – that is, to never, ever, neva, eva apologise for one false word (in their customary realm of football stenography and remote puppetry)
Wow… This is quite the opposite of what I expected… I screw up and make a mistake (that I probably shouldn’t have made) and I get an outpouring of praise in response… Well, thanks guys, although I’m not so sure I deserve it 🙂
I guess it says a lot about the state of journalism today that something that should be taken for granted under any circumstances is perceived as a unique display of integrity….
@Chad:
Thanks again for drawing that interview to my attention, and thanks for your other comments as well.
@bob:
Damn… You know I’ve been waiting for that job offer from the Sun for months now… 🙂
it’d help if you didn’t have this paranoia that the press is out to ‘do’ arsene wenger &arsenal
good stuff. the untold arsenal’s integrity and class has risen up a notch. not suggesting that it ever really needed to . 😉
@uk:
You know, “paranoia” is actually a clinical term. It refers to a pattern of delusional thinking that causes the patient to perceive a threat, despite the lack of evidence that any such threat exists.
The clinical opposite of “paranoia” would be “denial,” which refers to a condition where the patient is unable to perceive a threat, despite the fact that there is ample evidence that the threat exists.
@Tay:
Thank you.
@Anne
You have displayed a lot of integrity and character in this apology. However, your original article still has considerable merit.
@uk
I suspect the term “insidious” is relevant to your comment.
@bjtgooner:
Ok, yes, I suppose that I showed integrity in acknowledging my mistake and all that. But can’t at least one person criticize me for being overly quick to allege that a quote was fabricated? I mean, I deserve some criticism here… I swear to god I do 🙂
However, thank you for recognizing that my original article still had some merit. I agree that it did as well. Cheers 🙂
Come on, Shard, put me in my place 🙂
uk,
I know it’s really a lot of keystrokes for so early in 2012, but you do seem to have forgotten that your actual name starts with p and ends with e. Don’t they teach anything in schools these days? Impressively, you’ve managed to exclude MONTHS of the media/press’s non-stop Wenger-bashing; but then again, you do know that much, or you wouldn’t have made the drive-by hereabouts. But, hey, credit where it’s due: p-a-r-a-n-o-i-a is a very big word, and you spelled it right. Yep, lotsa keystrokes. Hmmm, ya done well then lad! A for effort. And a well-deserved nap (with sweet dreams of that job at The Sun. Ya got what that takes.)
p.s. btw, exactly who’d it “help” if Anne wontso paranoid?
@Anne
Effort, especially good effort, should never be criticised, so it would be improper for anyone to slag you off. You have corrected an error and now we need to move on in the ongoing battle to achieve fair play and fair reporting. Keep up the good work! Cheers!
@Anne
Yeah..Nice try.. You mess up and then try to make me look like the bad guy who puts you in your place? You’re lucky Untold has such an understanding lot.. I was all set to pass you some salt to eat along with your hat. But I suppose apologising to Antony Kastrinakis (or whatever his name is) is punishment enough 🙂
Though can I say…. I told you so? Na..that would be petty of me.. Wait.. Do I already come across as the bad guy here? Oh well.. maybe I can get a job at the Sun now that you’ve blown your chances.
@Shard:
🙂 If anyone accuses you of being a bad guy, they’ll have me to deal with 🙂
And you can definitely say “I told you so” because you predicted that this would happen 🙂 Although I think you’re right that having to apologize to AK was probably punishment enough in this case…
shows the difference btn untold and the know it all AAA blogs…dont worry anne it was just a mistake and we all make them..
to all.. if its not much to ask would love to see your comments on my article but please go easy on me as i am a beginner and not legendary like anne,dogface,tony and walter 🙂
@Mahdain:
Done 🙂 I was planning to comment on your article anyway since I enjoyed it. And you give yourself too little credit. It was only 6 months ago that I was the “beginner” myself 🙂