Anorak Nation: Discussion: Re: Lies that change radio history

You're right, it IS a problem.

Over the last few years, there have been a number of radio and TV programmes about Offshore radio and I've noticed some of them have made silly errors showing the poor quality of researching going on. The net is a wonderful tool, both for information and disinformation, Wikipedia being a case in point.

Reading JW's book, I was aware of some errors but from what you've said, it's evident that there are others I'm simply not aware of.

The problem, as you rightly say is, when something goes down in print, whether it's true or not, that it's just a matter of time before someone accepts it as gospel.

If someone is writing an autobiography and they have a detailed set of diaries to refer to, that helps cut down on the errors. Relying on one's memory is not always accurate even if one was the person there!

I recall years back when I was studying psychology at night school for my Personnel Management exams, we came across the topic of perception - how that varies from one person to another. Of course, there are other more deliberate reasons for errors, e.g. when someone puts their spin on a particular topic for whatever agenda they have.

I don't think there are any easy answers other than corroborating evidence and challenging inaccuracies of any type when they appear. How you do that with a book that's in print I don't know, other than writing to the author - and sometimes that may serve no benefit. Maybe forums like this have a role, but the question is, would a researcher use them in say 20 years time?

Tough one.