Tsumani and Local News

Tsunami Photo 12/26/04 


This is a copy of a photo from my local community newspaper, The Spotlight. It is from their website. The picture they ran on the front page was an edited version which had been blown up to show much more detail of the people. It is an amazing photo and the best I have seen of this horrible situation. I will try to get the paper and scan the copy up here.

Of note, I use to work at this newspaper as an associate editor. I was also the publisher and editor of The Weekly Factor.
From January 12, 2005 issue

Publisher's Memo

OUCH!

The Internet is a fabulous source of information and entertainment. It can also be a vicious animal that bites without warning. The Spotlight was "bitten" last week in a rather prominent place, our front page.

Trusting in their veracity, and following a cursory check, we published two pictures from the net, reputed to be of the tsunami. By the next day or so they were challenged, with one challenger, Phillip Rothkopf, even providing a website substantiating his claim.

That website states the photos actually are of an annual phenomenon occurring in East China's Zhejiang Province where an extremely high tide in the Qiantang River causes water to crash over a sea wall. It's an every-September occurrence that people willingly endure a dousing in order to observe.

The site also states pranksters have circulated the photos world-wide, claiming them to be of the tsunami.

We're publishing these details once again trusting in Internet-provided information.

One of these stories is accurate. If it's the former, well, thanks for reading The Spotlight and alerting us to possible inaccuracies.

If it's the latter, which we fear it is, we apologize. Next time we'll better check the teeth in that dog.

Jerry Cosby, Publisher