Perhaps Phuket needs their own global TV station to correct some unbalanced reporting by the big networks. Here's yet another (sigh)

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From Jeroen Deknatel, Managing Director, Fantasea Divers - Ocean Rover Cruises

CBS News distortion

To those of you who saw Ocean Rover in the CBS News report about coral damage: do not believe what they are telling you! We are furious at CBS.

One of their producers contacted us and asked if we could help them get to the Similan Islands to report on coral damage. They assured us the piece would be "fair & balanced".

We did everything we could to assist the CBS news team and they spend half a day filming and interviewing people on board Ocean Rover. One of our clients kindly gave them his underwater video footage for use during the broadcast. CBS promised our client that his footage would be used in a responsible manner.

Our Cruise Director Hans Tibboel described one specific divesite in Surin Island with the words: "it looked like a giant sandblaster was used". Again, Hans was describing only one divesite and made positive remarks about the actual lack of damage at other places. Of course, the CBS editor used the "sandblast" soundbite and hardly anything else.

Footage was also arranged in a 'before & after' method that is not consistent with the real situation. All the beautiful 'before' footage shown by CBS was actually filmed AFTER the tsunami.

Somehow the media just cannot help themselves and turn everything into a gloom & doom story. CBS should be ashamed of what they did here. We have talked to their producer since but of course she blames the New York editor. This is the way the media works. The way the news piece came out is 100% the opposite of what was promised to us. We urge fellow dive operators to be very careful in dealing with the media. These people do not let scruples get in the way of a juicy story. Shameful!

Edited January 13, 200521 yr by bahtandsold

Sensationalist reporting sells advertising..

Theres not much exposure in saying everythings fine.. Look at the pretty fish !!

Sad sorry state of affairs but the facts.. I would have been deeply suspicious of any news crew looking to do an 'expose' on reef life after the Tsunami.. You basically know where they will be aiming..

Andaman News was on Channel 11 at 8 am this morning.

Some old codger who runs Laguna was doing initially the generic 'tourists come back!' speech.......ok fine....

but then how they were putting prices UP by levying US$2 donations per night per guest.

Whilst one recognises the good cause, this smacks of recreational totalitarianism - it assumes that people are incapable of making their own donation decisions.

Ditto at the Marriott last week. Donations quietly skimmed off your bill to fund 'turtle welfare' - now, the amount they were raking in - there's no way you could spend that much on a turtle - unless you bought each one their own submarine to swim around in.

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That truly sucks

They dont deserve to be in business

Andaman News was on Channel 11 at 8 am this morning.

Some old codger who runs Laguna was doing initially the generic 'tourists come back!'  speech.......ok fine....

but then how they were putting prices UP by levying US$2 donations per night per guest.

Whilst one recognises the good cause, this smacks of recreational totalitarianism - it assumes that people are incapable of making their own donation decisions.

Ditto at the Marriott last week. Donations quietly skimmed off your bill to fund 'turtle welfare' - now, the amount they were raking in - there's no way you could spend that much on a turtle - unless you bought each one their own submarine to swim around in.

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