Conflicting News Reports on the Fate of the
Sinking Titanic
By Various Authors
1912
The RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of
15 April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg. More than 1,500 passengers died as a result of the ship
sinking. After the ship sank, there were conflicting reports about what really happened, with nobody
knowing for certain whether or not the ship had sunk at the time. As you read, take notes on the similarities
and differences of the details presented in the two newspaper articles.
LINER1
TITANIC KEPT AFLOAT
BY WATER-TIGHT
COMPARTMENTS BEING
TOWED INTO HALIFAX, N.S.
The Washington Times
April 15, 1912
Steamer Virginian Taking Disabled Ship
to Port of Refuge. Passengers Transshipped to Other Vessels to Await
Arrival of the Baltic,2 Which is to Convey
Them to New York. Disaster
Unparalleled3
in History of Navigation.
MONTREAL, April 15. — A message to the
Montreal Star from its correspondent at St. Johns,
New Brunswick, at 1:15 says that the Titanic is
being towed toward port4
by the Allan liner
Virginian.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 15. — Held afloat only
by her water-tight compartments the great White
Star liner Titanic is slowly crawling toward this
harbor. Her passengers have been taken off to other vessels, only to have to face a second ordeal,5
as
they are to be again transferred to the Baltic, of the White Star line, this afternoon. The Baltic will take
them to their journey’s end in New York, where they are due next Thursday.
[1]
1. a large ship that carries passengers
2. a ship which was in the vicinity of the Titanic
3. Unparalleled (adjective): having no equal; exceptional
4. taken back to the dock by another boat
5. Ordeal (noun): a terrible experience
1
The disaster to the Titanic was unparalleled in the history of navigation. The largest, most luxurious and
best appointed6
vessel ever laid down, she seemed proof against any disaster, and it is to the very fact
that she was a new steamer that the passengers on board, noted financiers and society leaders, owe
their lives.
Hardly another craft afloat could have withstood the terrific shock when the Titanic, driving along at
better than half speed, although in the midst of icefields, crashed bow on7
into a great submerged8
mountain of ice which tore away her steel plates.
7 LINER TITANIC WRECKED BY ICEBERG; PASSENGERS
TRANSFERRED TO OTHER VESSELS IN MID OCEAN
The Day Book
April 15, 1912
Biggest Steamer Ever Afloat Crumpled Up Like Toy in Nighttime — Wireless9
Saves
2,000 Passengers and Crew.
Halifax, N. S., April 15. — Kept afloat only by her watertight compartments, the great White Star liner
Titanic slowly is crawling toward this harbor.
Her 1,470 passengers were taken off and put aboard other steamers in mid ocean. They may thank a
calm sea and the wireless that they are alive today.
The disaster to the Titanic is unequalled in the history of navigation: The largest, most luxurious and
best appointed vessel that ever floated, she seemed proof against any disaster.
Hardly another ship afloat could have withstood the terrific shock when the Titanic, driving through the
night at more than half speed ahead, crashed bow on into a great submerged iceberg.
Just how the accident happened, whether there was a panic among the passengers, is not yet known
here. Only the wireless appeals for help came from the stricken ship.
Captain E. S. Smith, admiral of the White Star fleet of liners and in command of the Titanic, realized
acutely10 the danger to his passengers.
The first message was received at the Cape Race wireless station at 10:25 p. m. last night. It was
demand for immediate help.
From Cape Race the news was spread far and wide by wireless and by telegraph. Vessel was reached
and given the position of the Titanic, and urged to make all speed to her aid.
[5]
[10]
6. Appointed (adjective): equipped
7. straight into
8. Submerged (adjective): underwater
9. radio
10. Acutely (adverb): requiring serious attention
2
The Allan liner Virginian was the first. She turned her prow11 toward the wounded giant of the seas, and
set out under forced draught.12 Then the Carpathia, of the Cunard line, and the Baltic, sister ship of the
wrecked vessel, and the Allan liner Parisian, were reached, and all proceeded toward the Titanic.
Then came a time of cruel waiting. From the moment the first message reached Cape Race station until
12:27 a. m., there came flash after flash from the Titanic.
And each message was the same — “Hurry! Hurry! We are sinking and the passengers may be lost.”
Nothing could be done from the shore. The Titanic lay 450 miles south of Cape Race, and 1,150 miles
due east of New York. The only hope for her passengers seemed to be from vessels in her immediate
vicinity.13
At 12:27 a. m. a message was relayed to the shore:
“All women and children among passengers have been put in lifeboats; which are being held ready for
lowering at moment’s notice.”
Three times the message was repeated, and then the wireless fell silent, and every attempt made by
the stations on shore to get into communication with the sinking liner failed.
Then communication with the Virginian ceased, and those on shore could only wait helplessly.
It is known now that the reason the wireless failed was the atmospheric condition in the ice field in
which the Titanic was lying helpless, but at the time it was feared that the great liner and her
passengers and crew had sunk to the bottom of the sea.
At 8:30 this morning, a brief wireless saying that the Titanic was still afloat and proceeding under her
own steam was picked up.
The White Star office in New York issued an official statement that it would be impossible for the Titanic
to sink, no matter how badly she might have been injured.
Shortly after 9 o’clock, a message was received that the Carpathia, the Parisian and the Virginian were
“standing by” the stricken ship, and that the Baltic was coming up fast.
Shortly afterwards came another message saying that the transfer of the passengers had been begun.
The first boat loads were rowed to the Carpathia. The life boats of the Titanic represent the last word in
safety. They are wide, and non-sinkable. Each can hold 50 passengers. Only 35 were taken at a time
today, however.
The work of transferring passengers at sea always is full of danger. It was less so today than usual. The
wind had died down to nothing at all. The sea was comparatively quiet.
[15]
[20]
[25]
11. the front of a ship
12. a way to power an engine
13. Vicinity (noun): the area around or near a particular place
3
"Conflicting News Reports on the Fate of the Sinking Titanic" by Various Authors (1912) is in the public domain.
Many of the passengers carried their most valuable belongings with them. There was no attempt to
move hand baggage. Nearly all the first class passengers of the great liner were financiers or society
leaders. A conservative estimate of the value of jewelry and bonds carried among them is $5,000,000.
There was a great deal of conflict between the wireless messages received this afternoon.
One dispatch [sic] to Montreal declared the Titanic had sunk.
The conflict of messages was due to interference with messages and because all wireless messages
had to be relayed.
Just what is to be done with the passengers transferred from the Titanic has not been decided. They
may be transferred at sea again, and put aboard the Baltic, and brought to New York. They may stay on
the steamers they now are on, and, these, ships may be ordered to Halifax, where special trains are
already being got ready for the shipwrecked men and women.
New York, April 15. — The Titanic is the greatest of modern leviathans,14 being even bigger than the
monster Olympic.
She also is the most luxuriously fitted and furnished vessel ever sent to sea.
She is 888 ½ feet long, with a 92 foot beam. Her registered tonnage is 43,000 tons, and her
displacement 66,000 tons. 5,000 passengers could be accommodated aboard her, 600 in the cabins.
She carried a crew of 800 men. Her captain, E. S. Smith, is the veteran of the White Star service.
This was the Titanic’s maiden voyage. It was not begun well. When she was drawing out from
Southampton docks, the suction she created in the harbor dislodged the American liner New York from
her berth, breaking the two heavy hawsers like pack threads.
The New York swung toward the Titanic, and narrowly missed plunging into her. This was regarded as a
bad omen by the captain and crew of the Olympic.
The passengers on the Titanic included some of the best known names in America. Mr. and John Jacob
Astor, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Bruce Ismay, Clarence Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Isadore Straus, Countess
Rothes, Archie Butt, Mrs. L. Appleton, Mr. and Mrs. Washington Dodge, and Benjamin Guggenheim
were among them. Nearly every cabin passenger was a multi-millionaire.
Discussion Questions
Directions: Brainstorm your answers to the following questions in the space provided. Be prepared to
share your original ideas in a class discussion.
1. According to the text, what caused the conflicting reports? Why was the information in the
reports incorrect?
2. Have you ever been told something that turned out to be incorrect? What was it? How did it
affect the trust you have in the information you receive from other people? How do you
think these incorrect reports affected the reader’s trust in the newspapers?
3. Why do you think that newspapers did not wait to report on the Titanic until they knew for
sure what happened? What benefits were there in reporting on the ship so quickly? What
differences exist between the way the news was reported at the time of the Titanic and
today?
7
1. According to the text, the conflicting reports were caused by interference with wireless messages and the need for messages to be relayed. This resulted in incorrect information being reported, such as one message stating that the Titanic had sunk. Additionally, the atmospheric conditions in the ice field where the Titanic was located caused the wireless communication to fail.
2. Yes, I have been told something that turned out to be incorrect. It was a small misunderstanding between friends, but it made me question the accuracy of the information I receive from others. These incorrect reports on the Titanic may have affected readers' trust in the newspapers, as they would question the accuracy and reliability of the information being reported.
3. Newspapers did not wait to report on the Titanic until they knew for sure what happened because there are benefits in being the first to report breaking news. Reporting on the ship quickly would allow newspapers to attract more readers and generate more revenue. However, this desire for immediacy can compromise the accuracy and quality of the information reported. Today, news outlets still strive to report breaking news quickly, but there are mechanisms in place to fact-check and verify information before it is published, such as journalistic standards and fact-checking departments.