rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
....
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/..._brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

JAM

On Nov 10, 6:11*pm, j-rod wrote:
Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...10_now_you_see...

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

JAM

You would think that someone who scammed that much $$$ could afford a
few dollars for some facial makeup.

oly

In article , j-rod
wrote:

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...u_see_your_lif
e_savings_safe_in_rare_gold_coins__and_now_you_don t_brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

She must be a reely, reely big time koin deeler ... she's
not even listed in the 2010 Numismatic Deeler Directory
(which is free if you have a subscription to the Greysheet).

And megakudos to the reporter for the first public disclosure
that "collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they
are gilt, not solid gold". She's probably going to win a
Pulitzer Prize for that stunning expose ... (a Roxanne Pulitzer
prize, though, not one of the regular ones ...).

--
Ken Barr Numismatics email:
P. O. Box 32541 website: http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA 95152 Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

On Nov 11, 10:17*am, Ken Barr wrote:
In article , j-rod
wrote:

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...10_now_you_see...
e_savings_safe_in_rare_gold_coins__and_now_you_don t_brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

She must be a reely, reely big time koin deeler ... she's
not even listed in the 2010 Numismatic Deeler Directory
(which is free if you have a subscription to the Greysheet).

And megakudos to the reporter for the first public disclosure
that "collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they
are gilt, not solid gold". *She's probably going to win a
Pulitzer Prize for that stunning expose ... (a Roxanne Pulitzer
prize, though, not one of the regular ones ...).

--
Ken Barr Numismatics * * * *email:
P. O. Box 32541 * * * * * * website: *http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA *95152 * * Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 * * * *NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

I noted that fine point of wisdumb on collectible coins too, but the
whole crop of journalism graduates are deeeee-ummmm -dumbbbb. They
would be after listening to four+ years of liberal mouth-craps from
their perrffessers...

oly

"oly" wrote in message
...
On Nov 11, 10:17 am, Ken Barr wrote:
In article , j-rod
wrote:

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...10_now_you_see...
e_savings_safe_in_rare_gold_coins__and_now_you_don t_brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

She must be a reely, reely big time koin deeler ... she's
not even listed in the 2010 Numismatic Deeler Directory
(which is free if you have a subscription to the Greysheet).

And megakudos to the reporter for the first public disclosure
that "collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they
are gilt, not solid gold". She's probably going to win a
Pulitzer Prize for that stunning expose ... (a Roxanne Pulitzer
prize, though, not one of the regular ones ...).

--
Ken Barr Numismatics email:
P. O. Box 32541 website: http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA 95152 Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

I noted that fine point of wisdumb on collectible coins too, but the
whole crop of journalism graduates are deeeee-ummmm -dumbbbb. They
would be after listening to four+ years of liberal mouth-craps from
their perrffessers...

So... if she had been taught only by instructors with conservative views,
she would't have made this error? Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Her statement actually is correct if she was (erroneously) referring to the
gold-plated crap sold by hucksters. She probably got that (correct)
assessment while talking to one of her sources and just confused legitimate
gold coins with the plated crap. It's still a factual error but one that
could be made by anyone not familiar with numismatics.

I'm not defending journalistic errors, but reporters have to cover a wide
variety of topics. Some they are famliar with, some are totally foreign to
them at first. oly, if I sent you out to cover, say, a new discovery in
genetics or cosmology or rocket science, I'd give odds that the copy you
turned in would have errors of fact or context. That's why most reporters
at large news organizations eventually are assigned to a "beat" such as
science or medicine or crime - so they can accumulate enough knowledge not
to make such basic mistakes.

But other than industry publications, there is no beat assignment for
numismatics, so it was strictly luck of the draw as to whether the reporter
assigned to this story would know anything about gold coins and gold-plated
huckster crap. She is a crime reporter for a NY tabloid, covering
everything from high-profile celebrity scandals to ordinary street crime.
She probably doesn't know the difference between a half disme and a plugged
nickel, nor should she be expected to. It's the kind of error that you
would expect a veteran copy desk editor to catch, but this is a tabloid and
even at more staid news outlets, newsroom cuts have meant that stories get
run with little more than a cursory check by an overloaded editor.

In article ,
"mazorj" wrote:

"oly" wrote in message
...
On Nov 11, 10:17 am, Ken Barr wrote:
In article , j-rod
wrote:

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...10_now_you_see...
e_savings_safe_in_rare_gold_coins__and_now_you_don t_brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

She must be a reely, reely big time koin deeler ... she's
not even listed in the 2010 Numismatic Deeler Directory
(which is free if you have a subscription to the Greysheet).

And megakudos to the reporter for the first public disclosure
that "collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they
are gilt, not solid gold". She's probably going to win a
Pulitzer Prize for that stunning expose ... (a Roxanne Pulitzer
prize, though, not one of the regular ones ...).
[snip]
I noted that fine point of wisdumb on collectible coins too, but the
whole crop of journalism graduates are deeeee-ummmm -dumbbbb. They
would be after listening to four+ years of liberal mouth-craps from
their perrffessers...

So... if she had been taught only by instructors with conservative views,
she would't have made this error? Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Her statement actually is correct if she was (erroneously) referring to the
gold-plated crap sold by hucksters. She probably got that (correct)
assessment while talking to one of her sources and just confused legitimate
gold coins with the plated crap. It's still a factual error but one that
could be made by anyone not familiar with numismatics.
[snip]

Some of the "collector coins" referred to in the article are
illustrated in the accompanying photograph, to wit, several
PCGS and NGC slabbed dubble iggles ($20 Libs and $20 Saints).

I realize that this was just a throw-away piece in a general
circulation publication, not a scholarly article in a noomismatic
journal, but even still a modicum of jernalism fact-checking
should have been attempted, if only to browse the PCGS.COM
website for a little bit.

I also note that she quotes an ADA as saying "Gold coins are not
a great hedge in these economic times". I know that when I want
economic advise, I *always* consult my local District Attorney's
office ... just like I call the San Jose State University Department
of Economics whenever I need quality legal analysis ...

--
Ken Barr Numismatics * * * *email:
P. O. Box 32541 * * * * * * website: *http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA *95152 * * Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 * * * *NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

"Ken Barr" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"mazorj" wrote:

"oly" wrote in message
...
On Nov 11, 10:17 am, Ken Barr wrote:
In article , j-rod
wrote:

Rare-coin broker Stephanie Brown swindled $1M from elderly East Sider
...
New York Daily News
BY Melissa Grace A rare-coin broker conned an elderly East Sider into
reinvesting her $1 million life savings in gold coins - and then
stole
the victim's ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...10_now_you_see...
e_savings_safe_in_rare_gold_coins__and_now_you_don t_brokered.html

http://tinyurl.com/2ar2stb

She must be a reely, reely big time koin deeler ... she's
not even listed in the 2010 Numismatic Deeler Directory
(which is free if you have a subscription to the Greysheet).

And megakudos to the reporter for the first public disclosure
that "collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they
are gilt, not solid gold". She's probably going to win a
Pulitzer Prize for that stunning expose ... (a Roxanne Pulitzer
prize, though, not one of the regular ones ...).
[snip]
I noted that fine point of wisdumb on collectible coins too, but the
whole crop of journalism graduates are deeeee-ummmm -dumbbbb. They
would be after listening to four+ years of liberal mouth-craps from
their perrffessers...

So... if she had been taught only by instructors with conservative views,
she would't have made this error? Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Her statement actually is correct if she was (erroneously) referring to
the
gold-plated crap sold by hucksters. She probably got that (correct)
assessment while talking to one of her sources and just confused
legitimate
gold coins with the plated crap. It's still a factual error but one that
could be made by anyone not familiar with numismatics.
[snip]

Some of the "collector coins" referred to in the article are
illustrated in the accompanying photograph, to wit, several
PCGS and NGC slabbed dubble iggles ($20 Libs and $20 Saints).

Which obviously is all Greek to her for the reasons I explained.

I realize that this was just a throw-away piece in a general
circulation publication, not a scholarly article in a noomismatic
journal, but even still a modicum of jernalism fact-checking
should have been attempted, if only to browse the PCGS.COM
website for a little bit.

Why? She was focused on the crime aspects, not TPGs.

I also note that she quotes an ADA as saying "Gold coins are not
a great hedge in these economic times". I know that when I want
economic advise, I *always* consult my local District Attorney's
office ... just like I call the San Jose State University Department
of Economics whenever I need quality legal analysis ...

She's a *crime* reporter doing a *crime* story. She deals with DAs and cops
and perps, not economists. If the story had been about economics and gold
coinage, or if the reporter's beat was the economy, then yeah, she would
have consulted more expert sources from those areas. But if you want that
level of expertise from every reporter in every story, read the Wall Street
Journal, not crime stories in the tabloids.

Your expectations here could only happen in an ideal, textbook perfect
world, Ken. A crime beat reporter like her probably worked on several other
stories that same day, and every other day on the job. Working a busy,
daily beat like that (crime in NYC, fer' Pete's sake) doesn't give you the
luxury of endless rounds of checking to confirm every last ancillary factoid
in your stories when you have no obvious reason to suspect their accuracy.

Again, I'm not excusing, just explaining how this happens, for people who
have unrealistic expectations of the media.

--
Ken Barr Numismatics email:
P. O. Box 32541 website: http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA 95152 Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

In article ,
"mazorj" wrote:

[snip]
She's a *crime* reporter doing a *crime* story. She deals with DAs and cops
and perps, not economists. If the story had been about economics and gold
coinage, or if the reporter's beat was the economy, then yeah, she would
have consulted more expert sources from those areas. But if you want that
level of expertise from every reporter in every story, read the Wall Street
Journal, not crime stories in the tabloids.

Your expectations here could only happen in an ideal, textbook perfect
world, Ken. A crime beat reporter like her probably worked on several other
stories that same day, and every other day on the job. Working a busy,
daily beat like that (crime in NYC, fer' Pete's sake) doesn't give you the
luxury of endless rounds of checking to confirm every last ancillary factoid
in your stories when you have no obvious reason to suspect their accuracy.

Again, I'm not excusing, just explaining how this happens, for people who
have unrealistic expectations of the media.

I do admit to reading the New York Times much more often than the New
York Post ... my local liberry has the traditional subscription to the
NYT, but surprisingly does not have a subscription to the NYP.

I also admit to having very high (perhaps wildly extravagant)
expectations of people who choose to practice the profession of
journalism. Over the years, I've been a small-time author, columnist,
ghostwriter, editor and publisher. One of my good friends was a
professor of journalism at a local university, and we often discussed
the state of affairs of journalism over time. We agreed that facts were
facts, and that if a reporter could not prove a fact stated in an
article, it should be omitted from the story. We also agreed that
opinions, especially unqualified ones, should be explicitly identified
as such even if the writer is simply "quoting a source", and should only
be used if relevant to the article.

In the referenced noozpaper article, the "gilt" comment is both untrue
and irrelevant to the facts of the alleged crime. The ADA's economic
quote is an unqualified opinion, not a fact, and similarly irrelevant.
Perhaps in the Internet age of jernelism reporters are not given
"inches/words" quotas, but are instead encouraged to "fill space" even
if they have to go outside their supposed areas of expertise. Had I
been the writer's editor (even if numismatically ignorant), about half
of that article would have been red-penciled, or perhaps it would have
even been spiked.

I still think the article is an example of shoddy journalism. You imply
that it's the best we can expect out of today's reporters.
Unfortunately, we're probably both correct ...

--
Ken Barr Numismatics * * * *email:
P. O. Box 32541 * * * * * * website: *http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA *95152 * * Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 * * * *NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11

On Nov 12, 3:33*am, Ken Barr wrote:
In article ,

*"mazorj" wrote:

[snip]





She's a *crime* reporter doing a *crime* story. *She deals with DAs and cops
and perps, not economists. *If the story had been about economics and gold
coinage, or if the reporter's beat was the economy, then yeah, she would
have consulted more expert sources from those areas. *But if you want that
level of expertise from every reporter in every story, read the Wall Street
Journal, not crime stories in the tabloids.

Your expectations here could only happen in an ideal, textbook perfect
world, Ken. *A crime beat reporter like her probably worked on several other
stories that same day, and every other day on the job. *Working a busy,
daily beat like that (crime in NYC, fer' Pete's sake) doesn't give you the
luxury of endless rounds of checking to confirm every last ancillary factoid
in your stories when you have no obvious reason to suspect their accuracy.

Again, I'm not excusing, just explaining how this happens, for people who
have unrealistic expectations of the media.

I do admit to reading the New York Times much more often than the New
York Post ... my local liberry has the traditional subscription to the
NYT, but surprisingly does not have a subscription to the NYP.

I also admit to having very high (perhaps wildly extravagant)
expectations of people who choose to practice the profession of
journalism. *Over the years, I've been a small-time author, columnist,
ghostwriter, editor and publisher. *One of my good friends was a
professor of journalism at a local university, and we often discussed
the state of affairs of journalism over time. *We agreed that facts were
facts, and that if a reporter could not prove a fact stated in an
article, it should be omitted from the story. *We also agreed that
opinions, especially unqualified ones, should be explicitly identified
as such even if the writer is simply "quoting a source", and should only
be used if relevant to the article.

In the referenced noozpaper article, the "gilt" comment is both untrue
and irrelevant to the facts of the alleged crime. *The ADA's economic
quote is an unqualified opinion, not a fact, and similarly irrelevant. *
Perhaps in the Internet age of jernelism reporters are not given
"inches/words" quotas, but are instead encouraged to "fill space" even
if they have to go outside their supposed areas of expertise. *Had I
been the writer's editor (even if numismatically ignorant), about half
of that article would have been red-penciled, or perhaps it would have
even been spiked.

I still think the article is an example of shoddy journalism. *You imply
that it's the best we can expect out of today's reporters. *
Unfortunately, we're probably both correct ...

--
Ken Barr Numismatics * * * *email:
P. O. Box 32541 * * * * * * website: *http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA *95152 * * Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 * * * *NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It was not "red-penciled" because it accurately conveyed the mantra of
the liberal class - that gold and silver are bad. Evil.

oly

"Ken Barr" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"mazorj" wrote:

[snip]
She's a *crime* reporter doing a *crime* story. She deals with DAs and
cops
and perps, not economists. If the story had been about economics and
gold
coinage, or if the reporter's beat was the economy, then yeah, she would
have consulted more expert sources from those areas. But if you want
that
level of expertise from every reporter in every story, read the Wall
Street
Journal, not crime stories in the tabloids.

Your expectations here could only happen in an ideal, textbook perfect
world, Ken. A crime beat reporter like her probably worked on several
other
stories that same day, and every other day on the job. Working a busy,
daily beat like that (crime in NYC, fer' Pete's sake) doesn't give you
the
luxury of endless rounds of checking to confirm every last ancillary
factoid
in your stories when you have no obvious reason to suspect their
accuracy.

Again, I'm not excusing, just explaining how this happens, for people who
have unrealistic expectations of the media.

I do admit to reading the New York Times much more often than the New
York Post ... my local liberry has the traditional subscription to the
NYT, but surprisingly does not have a subscription to the NYP.

I also admit to having very high (perhaps wildly extravagant)
expectations of people who choose to practice the profession of
journalism. Over the years, I've been a small-time author, columnist,
ghostwriter, editor and publisher. One of my good friends was a
professor of journalism at a local university, and we often discussed
the state of affairs of journalism over time. We agreed that facts were
facts, and that if a reporter could not prove a fact stated in an
article, it should be omitted from the story.

Minor quibble: "Proving" a fact can be a subjective standard. Technically,
second- and sometimes even third-sourcing a confirmation is the journalistic
standard. The difference is not always trivial because sometimes even your
second and third sources can get it wrong; but in that case you can't fault
the reporter who got a confirmation (erroneous though it be) from a credible
source.

You also have to draw a line somewhere, to allow some latitude for "common
knowledge" facts without confirmation. Otherwise, every reporter would be
going crazy double checking everything - "Sorry to bother you, senator, but
I need to confirm that Barrack Obama is the President before I can call him
that." As always, the problems lie in the gray-area judgment calls of
whether a fact needs confirmation or is accepted widely enough to let it
pass. (The error under discussion clearly is one of the former.)

We also agreed that
opinions, especially unqualified ones, should be explicitly identified
as such even if the writer is simply "quoting a source", and should only
be used if relevant to the article.

Yes, that comment should have been sourced if it was allowed to stand.
Sloppy.

In the referenced noozpaper article, the "gilt" comment is both untrue
and irrelevant to the facts of the alleged crime.

True. A good editor would have cut it. "Listen, Hon, stick to your crime
reporting, let the national desk cover the money stuff."

The ADA's economic
quote is an unqualified opinion, not a fact, and similarly irrelevant.
Perhaps in the Internet age of jernelism reporters are not given
"inches/words" quotas, but are instead encouraged to "fill space" even
if they have to go outside their supposed areas of expertise. Had I
been the writer's editor (even if numismatically ignorant), about half
of that article would have been red-penciled, or perhaps it would have
even been spiked.

Eh, what tabloid could ever resist a story as lurid as this? That's their
meat and potatoes. If they spiked anything, it would have been a lengthy
story (anything over ~700 words by tabloid standards) with a learned
analysis of the effect of QE on PM and other commodity prices.

I still think the article is an example of shoddy journalism. You imply
that it's the best we can expect out of today's reporters.
Unfortunately, we're probably both correct ...

As I said, I'm not excusing the error, just putting expectations into a
reality context. Furthermore, as these things go, for a crime story it was
a minor error, the kind that reporters have been making ever since the birth
of daily newspapers. However, the same error in that learned analysis of
the effect of QE on PM prices would have been a major gaffe.

Based on your background and mine, I think we both can deplore the erosion
of journalism over the past 40 years, victim to cost cutting and investor
demands to maintain/increase profits plus the time pressures of feeding -
and competing with - the 24/7 Internet news beast. If an optimist is
someone who thinks that a situation is the best it can be, a pessimist is
somone who fears that he's right. I count myself as both in this instance.
:-[

--
Ken Barr Numismatics email:
P. O. Box 32541 website: http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA 95152 Coins, currency, exonumia, souvenir cards, etc.
408-272-3247 NEXT SHOW: Peninsula CC (Naperdak Hall, San Jose), Nov 11