By now, you know that Bay Area news station KTVU got into some trouble after reporting fake racist names for the crew of the fatal Asiana Airlines flight that crashed in San Francisco last month. The station apologized, an intern got fired, producers were dismissed, and the airline threatened to sue. The incident unleashed all kinds of havoc, but it's never quite been clear where those phony names came from.Turns out, the names came from an ex-commercial pilot who previously had consulted with KTVU and was considered a reliable source. I'm willing to bet that the station is no longer on good terms with that guy anymore: Pilot consultant source of KTVU's fake pilot list, report says.
According to blogger Richard Lieberman, the whole incident sounds like a complete breakdown in the chain of reporting, which included an Asian American managing editor in the newsroom, Michelle Toy, who apparently did indeed raise the issue that the names sounded suspicious:
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the story.Toy was not among the staffers fired by KTVU. It's kind of amazing how much chaos was caused, including jobs lost, by one dumb joker sending a racist joke -- a joke nobody got until it was too late.
"You better check these, (names), out", said De Wolk after he passed the names over to newsroom personnel. KTVU's Managing Editor, Michelle Toy, who saw the list and whose duty, (among normal news procedures), was to read the names out loud, phonetically, raised the issue that the names sounded suspicious. Told that they were confirmed by an NTSB official, (later to be known as an intern), OKed the list. Toy, who is of Asian descent, was not one of the four staffers let go by KTVU and its corporate owner, Cox Media.
Another individual close to De Wolk said that the source that provided the fake pilot's names,(electronically via e-mail or text), was an ex-pilot who had worked with KTVU in the past and was considered to be trustworthy.
I asked the source if the pilot knowingly sent the names as a joke and if so, did the station know? "Apparently not." At least 4-5 people saw the list of names, including anchor, Tori Campbell, who read them on the air on KTVU's Noon Newscast, Friday, July 12th.
Toy, according to the source, made note that even though the downed jetliner was a Korean airline, the pilot, (fake), names were that of Chinese descent. Furthermore, the real names had already been posted on-line and KTVU was one of several news organizations that published them.
More here: Exclusive: KTVU Fake Pilot Name List OKed by Station 'Managing Editor Who Wasn't Fired; Station Feared Backlash by SF-Area Asian Community; Source That Provided Fake List Was Ex-Pilot.