By Paul Nicholson
March 18 – The Times has today published a retraction of the Dream League story it ran over its three back pages last Wednesday morning (March 13).
The story that rebounded around the world was identified as a hoax by Insideworldfootball the morning it was released (http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/asia/12158-qatari-dream-league-hoax-story-circulates-globe?highlight=WyJkcmVhbSIsImxlYWd1ZSIsImRyZWFtIGxlYWd1ZSJd).
The Times, in the now distant past often referred to as the Thunderer because of its leading reporting and ability to influence government, is part of Rupert Murdoch’s News International. News International closed its mass circualtion Sunday paper News of the World following the phone hacking scandals that led to the Leveson enquiry into the press in the UK and the now controversial press legislation that is being proposed by government, but resisted by the opposition party and the government’s own coalition partner.
The retraction of the Dream League story, written by the The Times‘ football editor, falls short of a full apology but says: “Over the three days that followed the publication of the story, it appeared increasingly clear that Kay and the paper had been duped. And that the checks from the office in London had not been stringent enough in the rush to publication.”
The justification for the story seems to be that the idea for a Dream League was plausible. Certainly if there was any truth in the story it would have been a blockbuster, and a potentially ‘life changing’ story for the organisation of football at the highest club and international levels worldwide.
Perhaps this in itself was the warning that should have rung alarm bells all round the sports desk at The Times. Read Jean Francois Tanda’s column in Insideworldfootball (http://www.insideworldfootball.com/jean-francois-tanda/12174-jean-francois-tanda-hard-to-say-i-m-sorry?highlight=WyJkcmVhbSIsImxlYWd1ZSIsImRyZWFtIGxlYWd1ZSJd).
The Times Football Editor says, on the checking of the story: “…secondary sources treated the questions seriously. And here is where The Times made a massive mistake. Because so many significant people in football did not laugh off the idea, it seemed that the story could be genuine.”
But did these secondary sources take the story seriously, or did they in fact take the journalist, from The Times, seriously? Significantly, none of these sources appear to have any detail of the contact they might have had from the Dream League, apart from the general feeling “that they did not think it was going to happen and could not see themselves being involved”.
If the story had been true it would have been a truly remarkable scoop for The Times. But it wasn’t. The Times piece today concludes: “We value our reputation. There will be changes now to the way we operate, and an extra level of skepticism will be incorporated into our working practices.
“But one thing will not change. If we get it wrong, we will hold up our hands and admit it.”
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734789952labto1734789952ofdlr1734789952owedi1734789952sni@n1734789952osloh1734789952cin.l1734789952uap1734789952