And I will continue to thank you for keeping me “in the know”! This was the first place I heard about the tagless issue, and thank god I did because my niece developed a rash from her PJs the next week. THANK YOU.

that’s bs. i’m glad the info is out and about, but that is just wrong.

I heard it here first and was so thankful to you J!  My sons have not developed a rash, but I would know exactly what the cause was if they had.

As if I needed another reason to hate mainstream media. 

*sigh* I’m definitely glad you guys are out getting the info though… If anything, I take comfort in the fact that we know the info first, being part of the blogging community

Went and gave NBC a piece of my mind for not crediting you and seeming to take all the credit.  Also am linking on my blog.

Thanks for all the work you did on this subject!

Jennifer
http://www.thesmartmama.com

Thanks for the many health and toxins issues you’ve raised well before the mainstream media. I am a)glad the story’s been picked up and b)hope you get the credit that is your due for caring for and diligently researching children’s health. Go ZRecs!

Perhaps she read about it on Debra Lynn Dadd’s blog who started collecting info on this in January of 2008 and emailed updates to newsletter subscribers several times in between.

Absolutely, Tiffany. We by no means claim to be the “first” on this issue either, and I think most readers would agree that quality of coverage matters more than being first on the scene. (In fact, there are several issues we are tracking but waiting to write about because we do not feel there is sufficient information or evidence to warrant exposure.)

We credited Dadd’s site (although we erroneously called it a “message board” based on the layout) for a quote we used in our first post about this issue.

There can definitely be too much made about being first. The key is that when you arrive you should be identifying those whose work you relied on for information or as a launchpad for your own efforts. To do otherwise is to fail both the profession/avocation of consumer reporting and your own readers.

Tiffany & Jeremiah - I too credited Debra Lynn Dadd’s site as well in my initial posting on this issue along with Z Recs.  That’s the point - any responsible journalist/blogger/author/writer will give credit where it is due.

Jennifer

Unfortunately, this is how television journalism works, particularly during sweeps! November is sweeps month in local markets across the country. My father is an old-school TV journalist here in the Twin Cities, but the new crop of television journalists (and producers, who are really the ones who are responsible for the over-the-top nature of a lot of these things) is all about planting flags and getting credit. In fact, by doing this, they guarantee that the investigative unit will continue to receive funding from their parent stations. Money for these kinds of investigations has been draining away. I’m not surprised that they are relying on blogs more and more. But frankly, I would be shocked and surprised if a television investigative unit credited blogs by name for breaking a story. An unfortunate truth.

This is par for the course for commercial “news” in Southern California.  “News” broadcasts have become part “Running Man” (car chases), part celebrity tabloid junk, with the rest filled out with self-aggrandizing crap (weather, sports, “investigative” reports).  As you have found out, we all can see who is really doing the legwork for those “in-depth” “investigative reports”.  And no, it’s definitely not the on camera, walking plastic surgery product.

If you watched TV “news” in Southern California, you may not know that a new President was elected last Tuesday, or how the economy is doing or really anything of any real import.  All you’d end up knowing from the local TV “news” is how Britney Spears is doing.  And blame can’t just be laid at the feet of the management:  there are TV “reporters” “working” around here who don’t even know who Pol Pot was.

Comedy Central’s actual fake news is a far better place to actually be informed about the world than any commercial TV station in Southern California.

So given their low standards in actually covering news, it’s not at all surprising that their lack of ethics corresponds to their lack of actual news.

I have now received several emails from folks who saw the NBC piece & are criticizing us for not “giving credit” or “mentioning” the blogs that helped us discover the source of our daughter’s injury.  Just to clarify, as some already have here, that even though we mentioned all of our sources we did not have control of the editing process nor did we expect to.  Additionally, I have tried to referenced all of the sources in our blog if anyone wants to read it.  We were just relieved that the Carters tagless problem got tv coverage and the public is becoming more aware...through any medium.  We are thankful to everyone and I hope that’s clear.  The core message has always been to warn families about these tagless clothes and to hopefully prevent any more babies’ injuries.