UKC

Comments invited....

http://www.theomm.com/assets/files/PressRelease/OMM_PressRelease2008.pdf

In reply to justintime: I've never yet read an article in the mainstream press about climbing that wasn't misleading, factually inaccurate or just plain wrong and most of what I read about the OMM was no exeption.
It makes you wonder when you read in the press about another "specialist" activity which you don't know something about yourself whether you can believe what you're reading.

In reply to pec: Ive come to realise now, that on many an occasion when I am reading an article about something I actually know something about, that the journo in question is inevitably sensationalising, filling between the lines and not bothering to thouroughly research or understand their topic.

This applies in particular to the 'credit crunch' 'housing crash' currently, and almost any other topic coveres.

The sunday times is, well a convenient cheap pile of kindling!

In reply to peterjb:
This is why i only ever read Razzle...

In reply to shingsowa:

Hate to tell ya, but a lot of that stuff is made-up and sensationalised too :-D

In reply to Niall:
Damn.

And it's 22:23 and i'm still at work.

In reply to justintime: it's interesting

thanks for posting it, but given the sensationally negative press coverage that this has had and the fact that you just registered today to post that i'll refrain from commenting on here

In reply to justintime:

It is interesting that this event in particular was picked up so readily by the press. Was this down to the location in a tourist area, the weather, or Mr Weir etc?

Would it have been as well covered if it had been somewhere like the Berwyns that most wouldn't have heard of, or if there had been a major football match on?

In reply to peterjb:

Unfortunately it gets passed down through the ranks so to speak. On a comedy programme on R4 last night the same drivel was passed off as seemingly factual - cost of rescues, ill-prepared people etc. This same tosh always seems to happen when people want easy targets, like the 'nutters' who go caving etc. - it is usually a good sign when to switch off that particular source of erudition or entertainment. I hate armchair critics! I can take as much ribbing as the next idiot but so often these dimwits just perpetuate stereotypes.

Steve

In reply to justintime:

The points they make in the press release are good, and address the misleading impressions given in the recent media reports. However, it seems a little long to me, and could have been edited for impact into a more concise, precise format. It reads fine to those in the know, but I'm not sure how clear it will be to the media or other people who have been critical of the event.

One major omission seems to be an explanation of why the decision was made to call the event off (beyond saying the weather deteriorated - was this for the safety or logistical reasons?)

A timeline of the events over the weekend could also be useful - e.g. there are hints at what happened at the slate mine, but not statements of fact.

In reply to justintime: I've noticed the absence of people on high horses.

In reply to justintime:

I read the report by OMM. They had 50,000 hits to their website- so it must have been a success to some degree, even with the negative press reporting. I'd love 50,000 hits in one weekend on my website.

As for the event itself- I wont comment I was not there. I cant say I would consider partaking in the 2009 event. I'm happier climbing/ trekking/cycling in Tibet where its not crowded , especially with 'runners' ( if I can call them that)