If you rely on the Coaster for accurate news, you had better be careful. Today’s July 26, 2018 edition carries a front page story called, “Arson Suspected in 2017 Ocean Grove Fire.”
Of course, they are referring to the Warrington Hotel fire of March 3, 2017. Blogfinger covered all the details.
On the front page is a photograph of the fire, but they have a caption that says that the fire “destroyed the Surf Hotel in Ocean Grove.” However, they have their hotels mixed up; the actual hotel in their photo is the burning Warrington on Lake Avenue with the La Pierre prominently shown in the image. The Surf Avenue Hotel burned down years ago.
The article says that the two investigative agencies (Federal ATF and Monmouth Prosecutors Office) “realized there had been a communications failure.” But they left out the significant fact that the problem was unearthed by fine journalism out of NJ.com. (Star-Ledger)
The piece says that the investigation had revealed last year that “either an arsonist or vagrant” deliberately started the fire. But they left out of the story the revelation by the investigators that the Warrington owner was also under suspicion and that there were three specific suspects known by name, and there was more information available in the NJ.com articles.
The Coaster article seems to take credit for reporting on March 23 that a “serial arsonist” was responsible for multiple fires, but that obvious speculation was on everybody’s lips after the Warrington fire. You don’t have to be a Coasterican to come up with that idea.
Blogfinger has posted numerous articles about the Warrington and that 2017 fire, so if you are interested in the facts, check our archives and our recent posts on this subject including the one that reported that the arson case was reopened, long before today’s Coasterican incompetent report.
I believe it is important that news stories about Ocean Grove are correct. You never know who might be reading those reports that provide fake news, gibberish or incorrect information.
If the wrong information is seen by someone such as the State Attorney General’s Office or FEMA, then the reader might become biased against us resulting in harm to our efforts to make the town better.
This Warrington article in the Coaster might cause harm to our efforts to see land-use justice done. In this case, the Coaster failed to properly investigate this topic, as is their style, and they totally missed Jack’s point about a possibility of conspiracy.
As a result of media errors about OG, Blogfinger has publicly corrected the Asbury Park Press, National Geographic, the Coaster and others who get it wrong about our town.
And if someone sees an error in our reporting, we welcome a correction.
Why do you bother with that rag: The Coaster?