Bad Santa?
We wrote the other day about Eric Schmitt-Matzen, a former Army Ranger dressed as Santa Clause who comforted a child as the child died in his arms. The Ranger Regiment verified his service with the 2d Battalion of the 75th Rangers in the earl 80s, but now the media is backtracking on his story of the events in the hospital;
Since publication, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen’s account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate.
Therefore, because the story does not meet the newspaper’s standards of verification, we are no longer standing by the veracity of Schmitt-Matzen’s account.
It’s a jungle out there. Another source says they’ve verified part of the story;
WBIR 10News has independently verified several critical details of this story, but has agreed not to publish those for the sake of privacy. Schmitt-Matzen maintains his desire to protect all names involved.
In addition, Schmitt-Matzen’s wife, Sharon, of 38 years spoke with 10News on Wednesday night and also helped fill in details of her husband’s story and his response to what happened that day in what she said was mid-October. That differs from Schmitt-Matzen’s original account of the timeline, in which he said the death happened “about six weeks ago.” Schmitt-Matzen told 10News he had the time wrong and that his wife remembers those things better than he does.
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Isnt it fascinating to watch a “legacy media” firm jealosly guard its reputation for veracity in an article about a man playing Santa,
But then note all the others that seem to lose all objectivity and fact-check skills when covering political events?
Weird, eh?
Yep. This was my exact thought when I read this.
Can you imagine an MSM outlet writing, “Therefore, because the story does not meet the newspaper’s standards of verification, we are no longer standing by the veracity of sexual assault allegations against President-elect Donald Trump.”?
Because I can’t. In fact, for all of the non-stop fussing about all things Trump, those particular accusations just stopped coming up at all. Why might that be?
Them retracting something negative about Trump is more possible than them writing something damning about Hillary though.
She could be shown on video using a flamethrower to burn a classroom full of kids and they’d report it as, “there appears to have been a malfunction with the equipment she was displaying in show and tell. We are estimating that it is the manufacturer’s fault those children died.”
She could shit in the Kennedy Rose Garden and the liberal media would laud her for “Using sustainable methods of fertilization” or some shit like that.
No, they would praise her for supporting abortion to the 24th trimester and a womans right to choose.
Fact checks? the media …lol roflmao !!! Since when does the media check ANYTHING for accuracy as long as its bashing, Trump, conservatives, Christians, Israeli’s or Christmas?
Honestly, it fell into the “a little too good to be true” category with the boy dying in his arms. But, I’m a horrible skeptic.
Yeah, but as you read the full recount it sounds a little more believable. Event happened in mid October, he is summoned to the kids room, by the family/nurse, he sits on the kids bed and talks to him… trying to raise his spirits (child was very weak), which he seamed to have done, child got up and gave him a hug (which likely overstressed his heart), as he was hugging him the child went limp (died). Mr. Schmitt-Matzen then felt awkward and did not know what to do, but kept hugging him. His comments afterwards to the News was that he had experienced death before but this was different and really effected him. Hopefully the news outlets will wise up and realize the information is verifiable and stick with the story. So they can regain some credibility as trustworthy.
Hey, at least he did serve in the regiment though.
Yeah, well, this is me getting all concerned about whether a story told by a fictional character is or is not accurate. Sure, I’ll get right on finding a place for it among my concern priorities. Sometime next year. After some solstice or another. During a blue moon episode. Maybe.
A time slot useful for reserving for such issues is between the second and third summer solstice of any given year.
leastways in my world, the question would not be what YOU believed, but what the child believed and if by playing a role the child’s last minutes were better. It isn’t always anbout us.
So you agree with me and others who cannot generate much give a shit over this story about a story about(apparently) what the original publisher of the story thinks about itself?
Well, I’m not jumping on the hoax story just yet. Unless the family and hospital come forward, there really IS no way to verify the story due to HIPPA rules.
The hospital cannot release ANY info without the family’s permission, so the fact that the paper cannot verify the story doesn’t always mean it’s not true.
I really want this to be a good story, and am willing to wait to see how it plays out.
HIPAA just means they can’t release any personal identifying information about anyone. They can say they had x number of cases of y or verify a patient passed in that situation.
They may not wish to for any number of reasons, but HIPAA isn’t that restrictive about general information.We share general information routinely.
Key words: “Since publication…”
I’m not a smart man Jenny… but shouldn’t the verification happen BEFORE publication?
Just sayin’…
The media doesn’t worry about that kind of thing. Pshawww.
If you take time to verify before publishing, you won’t be the first to report. And being first is much more important than being correct.
Geetwillickers. That’s the very first thought I had when I read the paper’s almost-but-not-quite-a retraction. They’ve got it bassackwards. Corroboration, confirmation, and verification are supposed to happen before a story is published. This wasn’t breaking news. How about, just for stareters, “Was there an obituary or death notice that corresponded to the age and gender of the child?” And whether Santa was where he said he was when he said he was is not a HIPPA issue. My guess is neither is a query as to whether a child died at the particular hospital on a particular day.
I saw that bit Denzel Washington did, too.
He may be a liberal Dem, but my opinion of him went up several (more) notches with that statement.
There is also the possibility that the ‘reporter’ who wrote the story juiced it up a little bit.
Personally, I don’t care, and that ‘newspaper’ can stick it where the sun don’t shine. If they had doubts, they shouldn’t have run it in the first place, but it was so – well, HEARTWARMING!!! wasn’t it?
It’s Christmas, fer Pete’s sake. What a bunch of grinches they must be.
Somewhere , Edward R Murrow is spinning in his grave. As for me, if this story does not check out. It will be a real downer. I was looking at this story when it first hit thinking. Nice to have news that does not involve negativity. Now this, Oh well. At least it’s not another stolen valor story. At worst it it just may have lowered my faith in humanity a bit more than it already is.
You have a strange idea of negativity if you think a child dying in the arms of a stranger instead of one of his parents, and that stranger then attempting to capitalize on it by telling the story independently, is a positive. He needs to shut his goddam yap.
You make a very good point. Didn’t see it from that POV. Thanks
Looks from here that his shutting his yap is how he got cross ways with the media outlet. Don’t know anything for sure, but it is the simplest explanation for how this changed from a feel good story to a CYA or perhaps even a vengeful thing.
Gee, if they only had this much integrity with the really big stories.
Another source says they’ve verified part of the story;
Thank you, Jonn.
Another source with more information:
” In Schmitt-Matzen’s interview with the The Post, he said that he would not disclose additional information about the incident, including the hospital at which he said it occurred and the name of the nurse who contacted him about the boy.
Hospitals near Schmitt-Matzen’s home and workplace in Jacksboro, in suburban Knoxville, said they had no record of the events described in the News Sentinel’s column and accompanying videos.
“We know for certain that it did not happen at our hospital,” said Erica Estep, public-relations manager at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. She said the hospital checked its mortality data for the entirety of 2016 and had no records of a 5-year-old child.
Jim Ragonese, a public-relations manager at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, said, “I checked with the leaders in the particular intensive unit where we have children, and they confirmed that it did not happen at our facility.”
Jerry Askew, a spokesman for Tennova Healthcare, a network of local hospitals, replied to an inquiry by saying: “If you’re calling about the Santa story, I’m sorry, but it didn’t happen at our hospitals. We’ve received calls from all over the world, but Santa didn’t happen here.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/everyone-forwarded-this-viral-santa-story-but-it-might-not-be-true/2016/12/14/8f462d3e-c232-11e6-9578-0054287507db_story.html?utm_term=.b2029f87a1c5
“[B]ut Santa didn’t happen here.” He should work for the White House with lines like that.
???☺
How would they know? No-one see’s Santa
Depending on when he was interviewed, October WAS six weeks ago….
Just saying.
What I got out of the Sentinel’s retraction is that Mr. Santa wouldn’t give up the kid’s name so that the scumbags playing at reporter couldn’t go camp the family’s front lawn as parasitic vultures.
Therefore, scumbag reporters had to get revenge.
Parasitic vultures are several steps up from these reporters.
So are maggots.
Yup. Pretty much sums up my reaction, and now his character is being attacked for it. Never let a good deed go unpunished today in this insane social media world.
Could have been worse I guess…
Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon
115 West Ninety Fifth Street
And the editor replies:
“Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.[…] Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.[…]No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”
The air gets dusty every time I read that. Winter pollens or something.
I can certainly accept that if Schmitt-Matzen gave up the hospital/family the resulting stampede of “reporters” would be horrible. As it is, I think they made a mistake talking about it at all. But we tend to want to talk out this type of event and not realize it may be broadcast everywhere (I’ve seen it on the BBC webpage as well.) I bet he has been overwhelmed.
I don’t know about the “it didn’t happen here” accounts. And I really hope the family keeps their mouth shut.
The grinches can go pound sand AFAIC.
How is it the newspapers found out about this story in the first place? Anonymous call to the paper? Santa himself? Someone who worked at the in-named hospital?
Back in the day, I would not have run a retraction on the Schmitt-Matzen piece, and very much not one of the limp-noodle variety the News Sentinel came up with.
The paper had its butt covered with the attribution in the original story. Schmitt-Matzen and the kid were apparently the only ones in the room. The circumstances were those conveyed by Schmitt-Matzen, and these things a reader can choose to believe or not.
This time of year, it’s not unusual for the news media to run human interest pieces in the spirit of the holidays. It’s probably also true that they tend to get cut a bit more slack fact wise than would usually be considered normal. Journalists are supposed to be in the business of telling stories. Something different from a legal brief or a product warranty disclaimer.
I don’t give a crap whether it happened the way he said it did or not.
These ‘verification’ people are so busy looking for cracks in the pavement, they don’t see the open manhole they’re about to step into.
I figured the “it’s just a hoax” “it didn’t really happen” crowd would start in on this one. I do believe it happened, maybe not exactly the way the paper put it out, but I’ve done enough children’s hospital visitations to know that it happens like that sometimes, and sometimes you don’t make it in time.
I believe in Tinkerbell and Unicorns shitting Skittles.
After this year’s election the vast majority of the snooze media can go fuck itself sideways with two miles of rusty tangled concertina wire wrapped in asbestos soaked with diarrhea and medical waste.
This has been on news radio all day. From what I heard I’m very skeptical that it happened at all.
On Beck this morning I heard someone that looked into it and can find no evidence, witnesses and glaring things wrong with the story like the parents leaving a dieing child alone with a complete stranger.
It seems to me like a story we all want to believe is true and just wasn’t but nobody wanted to rain on the parade
What makes you think the kid’s parents were NOT there?
Go ahead and be a Grinch. Enjoy being a curmudgeon. You’re in the same crowd with people who don’t believe anyone ever got to the Moon.
The story specifically said that they waited in the hall outside the room while a complete stranger was inside during the kids final moments. Do you know of any parents that would leave their kid like that if he only had a few minutes left? There are no witnesses, No hospital has any record of the guy let alone any 5yr old boy dieing then..ton’s of problems with this.
And what does this have to do with the moon? Of course we got there, we have had a moon base there for years and the Nazi’s have been mining Tritium on the dark side since WW2
Waiting in the hall outside a hospital room is such a relative thing Most, if not all, I’ve been around provide excellent observation of what is occurring within the room while giving the occupants of the room the appearance of being alone.
No, I have no idea if the parents were within earshot or not. It is just as rational to assume that they were as to assume that they were not, and certainly more likely that they remained close enough to hear what was happening within the room for the very reasons you itemize. Unless one of them perhaps took the opportunity to step over to the nurses station or the coffee pot, for instance. Who knows.