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Pastimes : Business Wire Falls for April Fools Prank, Sues FBNers -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Janice Shell who wrote (3597)	12/7/1999 12:01:00 PM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3795

Nice article. Perhaps we should start a list of companies making fraudulent or unethical claims and promises via BW press releases (if any slip by their rigorous pre-publication examination, of course). That way, we can monitor the progress of the subsequent BW lawsuits and, perhaps, assist them in their pursuit of truth and justice. Then again, the BW quotes in the story remind me of OJ's promise to spare no expense or effort to find the real murderer.

To: Janice Shell who wrote (3597)	12/7/1999 12:13:00 PM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3795

Business Wire's Mr. Lokey says he's not familiar with the Uniprime case, but says the wire service carefully screens press releases before they're distributed. It's precisely this type of statement combined with the Webnode lawsuit that make me think Business will lose a lawsuit brought by UPCA investors. Had Lokey said something like "Hey, we're just a distribution service. Our clients take full responsibility for what they write. Etc." then I don't think anyone would have any (legal) argument against them. The problems they have are 1) their press releases carry no disclaimer that allows people to differentiate between a news service and a wire service, 2) Lokey keeps saying how vigilant they are in checking for fraud implying they can be trusted. So, not only is he not attempting to disclaim -- quite the contrary -- he's trying to blur the line even further. But here's the quote that will be their downfall: "We probably do as well or better a job of weeding out this stuff than The Wall Street Journal does," he says. Lokey has just raised the bar to a standard, IMO, he can't possibly prove in court. He's also given UPCA investors good reason to argue they were led to believe they could trust a Business Wire press release like they trust what they read in the Wall Street Journal. No one says the Wall Street Journal is perfect, but at least they have certain journalistic policies in effect. Can Lokey prove that Business Wire has similar policies? I very much doubt it. - Jeff P.S. Considering Lokey has complained vehemently about this thread, and considering the UPCA situation has been discussed here ad nauseum, does anyone really believe Lokey is "not familiar with the Uniprime case"?

To: Janice Shell who wrote (3597)	12/7/1999 4:48:00 PM
From: Peter V	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3795

We got what we wanted," says Lorry I. Lokey, president of the San Francisco wire service. "There's no way we're going to have our future jeopardized by this type of operation. We're not going to sit still and take these kinds of insults." Mr. Lokey you are a sorry-ass piece of sh___t. But thanks for admitting that your motivation behind the lawsuit was not really that you were defrauded, or that your business reputation was damaged, or your trademark was infringed to your detriment, but rather that you took personal offense at someone poking fun at you. How do you sleep at night knowing you used the immense wealth of your corporation to cause three individuals to nearly suffer financial ruin? Do you feel good about it? If so, you oughta get a thicker skin and a better moral compass you slimeball. And as for this blatant bullspit: Business Wire's Mr. Lokey says he's not familiar with the Uniprime case, but says the wire service carefully screens press releases before they're distributed. "We don't just sit still. I can tell you that anyone in the future that moves a false story on our wire is going to get sued and we're going to win it," says Mr. Lokey. "We probably do as well or better a job of weeding out this stuff than The Wall Street Journal does," he says. You need a bigger pair of boots to wade around in your office. It must stink to high heaven in there.

To: Janice Shell who wrote (3597)	12/7/1999 5:18:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 3795

"We probably do as well or better a job of weeding out this stuff than The Wall Street Journal does," he says. I wonder whether the Wall Street Journal can sue BW for commercial disparagement after that remark.

To: Janice Shell who wrote (3597)	12/8/1999 12:33:00 AM
From: Michelino	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3795

This is an outrageous and pompous lie.... Business Wire's Mr. Lokey says he's not familiar with the Uniprime case, but says the wire service carefully screens press releases before they're distributed. The UPCA releases prove that Business Wire screens nothing. For if BW DID take "care" prior to distributing Uniprime's articles, we must condemn Mr. Lokey's company for serving willingly as the house organ for a fraudulent AIDS treatment scam (By the way, how does the practice of ticker spamming continually get by such "careful" screening? ex: biz.yahoo.com )