It’s funny what the media can do, and have to resort to, in order to get a scoop way ahead of its rival. Think Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie twin-birth news hullabaloo! Unfortunately, when this early bird who thinks it catches a worm turns out to be a bluff, expect a run-around or a pandemonium to break loose.
“Entertainment Tonight” prematurely announced the birth of the twin babies of two of the most beautiful and famous celebrities in the world. The TV show has been getting all the flak from different quarters while Pitt’s manager and other news organizations had declared it untrue.
Friday night’s broadcast of ET said that “a source who says she was inside the delivery room tells us yes, the babies were born and yes, mother and babies are doing fine.”
The first to report that the story was untrue was People magazine followed by the US Weekly after checking their sources.
Although the controversial story was removed from the “Entertainment Tonight” web site, someone from the show said Monday that the story had not been retracted. The representative, who would not comment on the record, did not confirm whether the show had checked back with the original source after Pitt's manager denied the births.
Even the show's veteran executive producer, Linda Bell Blue, did not return a call seeking comment on Monday.
The unfounded and pre-mature report of the babies' birth was even magnified when Associated Press reported that “Entertainment Tonight” had said the twins had arrived. Since the Associated Press could not immediately confirm or debunk the report, its editors talked with an “Entertainment Tonight” spokeswoman about the source.
According to Lou Ferrara, managing editor of Associated Press who supervises entertainment coverage, “we felt confident that they had the story nailed down.” The Associated Press also felt that “Entertainment Tonight” had a solid reputation in the world of celebrity news.
As the day went on, the news shifted, with other celebrity publications reporting anonymous denials, and then AP quoting Pitt's manager, Cynthia Pett-Dante, saying it was not true.
“The incident has damaged the Associated Press’ relationship with ‘Entertainment Tonight’,” Ferrara said.
“If you have the story, stand up and shout it from the mountaintops,” he said. “If you've got it wrong, you've got to shout it from the mountaintops that you've got it wrong.”
“Access Hollywood,” a rival magazine bluntly told viewers that its competition had blown it.
“As news and information move at a lightning pace, it's all the more reason to be right first than first wrong,” said Rob Silverstein, “Access Hollywood” executive producer.
According to the mother herself, actress Angelina Jolie, the babies are not due until August. Sarah Ivens, editor in chief of OK! Magazine said she grew more comfortable over the weekend that the “Entertainment Tonight” story was wrong because of other clues. There were no news of flowers being delivered to hospitals, or grandparents flying in, she said, and Pitt was seen attending a sporting event over the weekend — an unlikely spot for a new father of premature twins.
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