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Dominion Denies Fishy Photos Are Fake
… the continuing tale of the fake Hobbit photos….herein lies a mystery….
So far the Dominion is sticking behind its photos of Hobbiton published this morning. Scoop however thinks they remain rather fishy looking.
A reporter working for the newspaper today said he rang a trustworthy source about the photos after having the matter brought to his attention. Their veracity was quickly confirmed by the "reliable source".
Scoop understands the pictures arrived late last night on the wire from England and that the caption was very hastily put together.
In defence of the photos this afternoon Scoop received the a message from Tehanu – from http://theonering.net - and the source of the photo of the hill-top hobbit house published on Scoop yesterday.
She thinks they are real….
“I have more photos than the ones we have posted, and I can clearly see the houses that are shown in the Dom's photos; the shape of the vegetableGarden in front of one is unmistakable. The close-up of the house I can't identify, ours were taken under different light direction from the looks of things. But it is in accord with the ones I can see in our pics. “
Oh dear! Scoop thought for a moment. Then thought Scoop.
Why were they released last night when one of them was first published three weeks ago?
Why was the photo originally published with a caption saying it was near Wellington – and now claims to be in the Waikato?
Why do they look so tonker-townish and contrived?
Wouldn’t a Lord of the Rings source be inclined to confirm the pics - unofficially - even if they are fake….if for no other reason than to confuse everybody?
In fact the fact that the Dominion got such a matter-of-fact confirmation itself begs questions. Peter Jackson’s production have an official policy of saying absolutely nothing – why are they now confirming the veracity of photos?
Wouldn’t photos like this be more likely sourced in the Waikato than London?
Scoop has asked Tehanu to provide her supporting evidence to help solve the mystery.
(continuing…)
Alastair Thompson
Scoop Publisher
Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.
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