CNN inadvertantly makes public premature obituaries

[ixnay]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cnnobit1.html

APRIL 16--While all news organizations prepare obituaries in advance of the deaths of famous individuals, the folks at CNN inadvertently gave the Internet-surfing public a chance to preview how the network's web site would note the demise of Vice President **** Cheney, Ronald Reagan, and a few other prominent figures. Until earlier this afternoon, a CNN server housed mock-ups of web pages announcing the yet-to-happen deaths. The CNN pages, which were discovered by the intrepid folks at fark.com, were yanked about 20 minutes after being exposed (though TSG was able to grab a few of the pages for posterity's sake). The premature obituaries, housed in a publicly accessible area of the CNN server and searchable via Google, were apparently the work of Peter Rentz, a senior multimedia designer at CNN. The mock-ups are virtually identical to the obituary design currently used by CNN when a notable person dies (click here to see how CNN covered the Queen Mother's March 2002 death). In fact, elements of the Queen Mum's obit template can be seen in the below Cheney design. In addition to Cheney and Reagan, CNN also prepped online farewells to Fidel Castro, Bob Hope, Pope John Paul II, and Nelson Mandela.

Whoops...

[monkspider]

This is great.
Is there any link to the original pages?

[Sikander]

Wow, I had no idea that D!ck Cheney was once Queen Consort! I'm glad for this little slip up, as it tells me some things about our VP that I wouldn't have known until he was dead.

[MarkG]

that's nothing! He was UK's favorite grandmother!!

[Demerzel]

wow I certainly have lost track of current events when I forgot that our nation's favourite granny had a sex change

[Boris Godunov]

Hey! How can **** Cheney, Fidel Castro, Bob Hope, Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela ALL be the UK's favorite grandmother?! Can't you Brits make up your minds?

[FrustratedPoet]

[General Ludd]

If he died in 2001....

[JohnT]

Dammit, the nuns didn't teach me any of this stuff in Sunday school!

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Osweld
If he died in 2001....

That means that Dubya really has been in charge.

[Az]

It seems that Castro is UK's favourite grandmother as well!

[JohnT]

You know, I'm beginning to wonder just how true this is...

Nelson Mandela's face, Reagans quote and introductory passage, and the life of the Queen mother all on one obit?

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/cnnobit6.html

I'm beginning to smell a rat...

[JohnT]

I mean, the thing is this quote:

"While all news organizations prepare obituaries in advance of the deaths of famous individuals... Until earlier this afternoon, a CNN server housed mock-ups of web pages announcing the yet-to-happen deaths."

Well, these aren't mockups. These aren't "previously prepared" obits, or they would actually have been complete. These are the same obituary with the Queens mother info on them, with wrong quotes attributed, etc. The only one that is "complete" is Reagans.... but isn't it CNN's policy to have titles capitalized (like "President", "Prime Minister" and the like)?

[Ben Kenobi]

Wow.

Even the Pope is the Queen's consort. She must really get around.

[Gatekeeper]

Speaking as a journalist, I can assure all of you that we have obituaries prepared for *everyone,* including YOU, dear reader. You see, all journalists are a part of ... well, let's just say we have a gift. Yeah, that's it. A gift.

Your obituary, dear reader, is ready to be published at a date and time of *our* choosing.

We already know who's going to after they die.

We also know who's going to after they die.

Gatekeeper