You Heard It Here First

Without interviewing me, Jacksonville TV newscast First Coast News reported Thursday that I was selling the domain:

While the World Wide Web might not be a priority for Pope Benedict XVI, one local man hopes someone will think it's worth some cash to him. Roger [sic] Cadenhead of St. Augustine registered the domain name BenedictXVI.com along with other potential choices before the Pope selected his name. Cadenhead wants to sell it to the highest bidder.

This was news to me. I had been telling all reporters the exact opposite, as the original story in Tuesday's Washington Post attests:

Reached on his cell phone, Cadenhead said he hasn't made any decisions about what he'll do with the domain, but he vowed he wouldn't be pawning it off to the highest bidder.
"I never really registered it with the intent of making money, and I think to crassly auction it would be a sin of some kind. ..."

Five hours before the newscast, BenedictXVI.Com was donated to the charity Modest Needs while we wait to hear from the Vatican, as I wrote on my weblog.

A First Coast News producer e-mailed me for an interview at noon, but I was unable to call him back -- I had disconnected my phone because I couldn't say no to female TV producers.

Interestingly enough, I can see exactly what the station read on my web server, because the office computer the producer used to e-mail me requested several web pages Thursday, including these:

9:58 a.m.: The first papal weblog entry, which stated "I don't think there's any speculative potential in these domains"
10:09 a.m.: The Workbench home page, where the top entry stated "my goal was to keep it away from pornographers"
12:24 p.m.: The BenedictXVI.Com home page, which at the time displayed this page, where I explained that I "registered benedictxvi.com to prevent a pornographer or online casino from getting it"
12:24 p.m.: My favorite photo from my 10th wedding anniversary cruise
1:17 p.m. and 2:04 p.m.: The same BenedictXVI.Com home page

All told, that First Coast News computer made 115 web page requests before the newscast, also checking out my bio, books, and the television category of my weblog.

I don't know how the station could have reported something false that contradicted several pages they viewed on my server and so much other press coverage. My only consolation is that the story wasn't delivered by Donna Hicken.

Jacksonville · Domains · Television · 2005/04/25 · 16 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

It sounds like you could have a lot of people in Jacksonville pissed off at you. Not everyone checks the internet for news. Some people only watch the local news.

#1 · JW · 2005/04/25

Who watches the local news when there's the Internet JW? :-P

I must say, that's pretty p??s poor reporting when they can actually be tracked doing (part of) the research, only to still be wrong, and still not interview Rogers for a (final?) comment.

#2 · Bryan Price · 2005/04/25

As I continue to say, the problem with news people (I was a producer for 15-years) is an inability to understand their pre-conceived notions may be incorrect. In fact, I worked at one station where we were taught to write the final paragraph of the story (the conclusion) BEFORE interviewing anyone.

#3 · Juan Paxety · 2005/04/25

My inlaws who are 69 and 74. They don't even have a computer.

#4 · JW · 2005/04/25

I would ask them to issue a retraction. That is just an out-and-out miscommunication of the truth. I've seen all the entries on your blog since you registered the domain, and nothing even REMOTELY gives the impression that you are trying to make a profit from it.

Besides, until you hear from the Vatican, or el Popa, there IS NO DISPUTE.

#5 · David K · 2005/04/25

BTW...I meant to add that real journalism over the airwaves is dead. No one wants to do research anymore. They're all looking for the flashy package that will vault them through sweeps week.

#6 · David K · 2005/04/25

Well I hope your fifteen minutes and brush with journalistic shenanigans hasn't left you scarred. :)

I'm going to keep reading your weblog, even if you aren't the keeper of the papal domain any more.

Cheers!

#7 · TonyD · 2005/04/25

It proves that the truth of a story is never as interesting as the way the story impacts the viewer.

They could have reported on your stewardship of the domain and the sacrifices you are willing to amke in line with your faith and beliefs... yuck.

Or raised someone's blood pressure by showing the greed of the internet business man. Much better story... There's even a small kernel of truth to the idea that you speculated in domains. So, all they need to do is prove an absence of malice... oops.

It continues to teach you the lesson that "fame is NOT all it's cracked up to be." You just got tabloided by an outfit without much character other than a quest for hot stories.

never try to get even with an outfit that has such a large audience and know how to "use" (or maybe "serve") it.

#8 · McD · 2005/04/25

or el Popa

Perchance you meant der Pope?

Tick, tock Rogers. Tick. Tock.

U.S. Naval Observatory Atomic Clock

#9 · U.S. Naval Observatory Atomic Clock · 2005/04/25

Lol, take a look at www.benedict16.com .. this man's really serious about the opportunity to sell his domain to a porn developer!!

#10 · Juan Morales · 2005/04/25

Readers of this blog who live in Jacksonville should be complaining - and if 10 or 20 of them called into the station I bet they would take note. They were really the ones affected. (I could care less. :p )

#11 · David Jacobs · 2005/04/25

Looks like you bumped your monthly traffic up quite a bit huh!? heh.

I need to figure out a way to do that myself!

Good luck to ya.

-Phases

#12 · Phases · 2005/04/25

"If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own." Scoop Nisker, 1980's KFOG morning field reporter.

That's the way to increase web traffic... Mr. Caden made his own news. "Making your own news" is apparently also the way to increase TV ratings in Jacksonville.

If Jacksonville's TV news had reported the truth they could have had a nice "human interest" story to end the half hour news report on a feel-good note.

#13 · protea · 2005/04/25

I did not see a trackback, so check donsingleton.blogspot.com

#14 · Don Singleton · 2005/04/25

"O Bill, We Hardly Knew Ye"

Strangely, William F. Buckley has expressed admiration for the ideas of the "superfluous " anarchist,

Albert Jay Nock.

#15 · Vince Williams · 2005/09/14

That's lame.

#16 · Vincve Williams · 2005/09/14