A weekly newspaper’s court story about a drunk man who threw crisps in a dry cleaners has become an internet hit – two years after it was first published.
The Worcester Observer’s report of the case, which also reported how defendant Simon Kane had shaken his fist in a bakery, was picked up by humour website The Poke.
A cutting of the story, first published by the Observer in April 2014, was then tweeted by BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine, with the caption “looks like it’s kicking off in Worcester”, pictured below.
Observer editor Rob George has no idea how the story came to find internet fame so long after first being in print.
He told HTFP: “First thing I heard was when a former colleague posted it from the Poke’s Facebook link and it all snowballed from there culminating in Jeremy Vine’s tweet.
“I think it was also going around on Twitter as well but I’m as flabbergasted as anyone else.”
Rob added: “I was amazed to see one of our stories picked up by The Poke but can see why it provoked such humour.
“Our sub-editors are among the best in local journalism and will always ensure people are hooked by a headline, this classic is a perfect example.”
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“Had shook his fist”, eh?
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I can’t help noticing some of the best subs in local journalism didn’t spot that there isn’t actually a charge or a plea in this court report…
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‘…had shook his fist in a bakery’
Surely it should be ‘shaken’ ? And that’s as true as I am sat here!
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Further…
I see in the newspaper copy there is also ..a man was stood in their entrance… and it’s not even a direct quote?
Mind you – this guy was lucky he wasn’t charged with ‘salting a policeman…
I’ll get my coat.
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Dog bites man.
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Not only, as Steerpike correctly points out, does the article lack a charge and a plea….but some of the best subs in local journalism seem to have got the headline a little incorrect as well! There’s no mention in the court evidence that he was throwing crisps into the dry cleaners. It merely states he was throwing them around!
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Please can we have some proper editors or sub editors? Weeklies in particular have gone so far downhill, and this is an example of sloppy work that makes those who do care in the industry cringe.
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Observer50, it doesn’t say “into” just “in” – so he could have been in the building already throwing said crisps, although that doesn’t match the copy either.
All in all, worth a titter on The Poke, but not really something for an editor to be so proud of.
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Aren’t court reports meant to be contemporaneous? It’s many a year since I was a court reporter, but I would have thought it is wrong to repeat this report two years on. Or am I out of date as wel!
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Mildly funny but had slipshod errors. This was, however, one of the better stories in the Worcester Obs in recent years.
Next week: Rain forecast for this weekend and new complaints about dog muck owners.
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