Journalism at its Finest

In my daily browsing for articles on Fred, I came across this one by John Frank at the St. Petersburg Times which reminds me how bad our "journalists" are. Try on a couple of quotes:

Like most good Southern yarns, the Fred Thompson story is steeped in legend. His small-town upbringing in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., is humble and distinct on a campaign trail worn by front-runners in suits that match their polished images.
...
But the story's potency is only as good as its authenticity.

So from the beginning of the article, Frank has already deemed that the story is "steeped in legend". So, let's look to see what is legendary and, by insinuation, not fact.

Confirming a tale from nearly 50 years ago is difficult, to say the least.

Can you tell where Mr. Frank is coming from here?

Interviews with more than a dozen folks in Thompson's hometown who either knew him or worked with him at the plant in 1960 indicate that his stump speech story is largely true.

No fire yet. Heck, no smoke yet. Mr. Frank then sites several specifics that he found someone to confirm. Now we come to the real stuff:

Few former workers can actually say they remember seeing "Freddie," as he is known in his hometown, working on the assembly line. But they recall he was one of the dozens of local boys who worked at the plant as temporary employees after school let out.

Hey, maybe he didn't work on the assembly line!

It's pretty well remembered that Thompson worked the graveyard shift, and some of the other working conditions he describes seem accurate.

Nelda Morrow, a 48-year veteran of the factory, said the noise of the presses stamping out steel parts could be deafening. And Ronnie Perry, 63, said factory bosses didn't make employees wear earplugs back in those days.

But no one can pinpoint what Thompson is talking about when he says he worked in ankle-deep water. The factory rarely flooded, though the large flat roof would sometimes leak.

"I don't know why he said that," said Doyce Shaddix, who worked at Murray for 43 years. "It wasn't like it happened all the time."

So there you have it. Mr. Frank couldn't find anyone to verify that there were times that the conditions included ankle deep water. I actually find it interesting that Ms. Shaddix's quote was "It wasn't like it happened all the time" which to me says that it did happen.

So here is an entire article dedicated to casting dispersions about Fred and it is all based on not finding anyone who remembers him standing in ankle deep water 50 years ago.

Shees.