When ‘inserting yourself into the story’ takes on a life of its own

One of the constant criticisms of the modern day journalist is the seemingly never-ending quest to insert themselves into the story they are reporting on.

In the article you are about to read, the journalist was most definitely inserted into the story, but not by his own hand. In fact, fingerprint experts still don’t know exactly who was responsible.

When the Advertiser’s Dylan Hogarth was named in an Adelaide radio news bulletin as a fugitive on the run – accused of attacking police with a hammer – his first reaction was to laugh. Who wouldn’t? It sounds like a plotline straight out of Blue Lights or Law & Order.

Last Friday, Hogarth woke up to a barrage of messages from some very confused friends.

They’d heard the news bulletins on Triple M and SAFM saying that Hogarth had escaped custody and was the subject of a manhunt.

Call Triple Zero if you spot him!!

So Hogarth did what any dedicated, modern day journalist would do. He tuned in to Triple M and heard it for himself.

To be fair, Hogarth was a big part of this breaking news – a story he himself knew to be true, because he was the one who wrote it.

Dylan Hogarth’s name was there all right, but in the byline as the reporter. NOT the fugitive.

How on earth does a mistake like this happen?

Immediately, SCA’s much-publicised use of AI in news came under the microscope. It’s still unclear whether the bulletins in question were indeed AI-generated. SCA isn’t saying either way.

While this was a major embarrassment for the SCA, there’s another point to consider.

Running stories from other media publications is commonplace, but where appropriate, it’s a professional courtesy to acknowledge another journalist’s work. In this case, the Advertiser says it wasn’t credited as the source.

Maybe the attribution was missed accidentally. Perhaps it was human error. But therein lies a problem, because that can only be your defence if a human generated the bulletin.

Whilst Dylan Hogarth could crack a smile over his short-lived life on the run, it’s doubtful there were many giggles over at SCA, where a much more damaging result could have been the outcome.

This article is brought to you by Radio Release.