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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Sorry, it seems to me as if you are reading between the lines looking for
evidence of bias. I just don't see any. Just because she reported the facts "bicycle was passing in front of the car" doesn't mean she is insinuating the bicycle should not have been doing that. It just looks like the bare facts to me. Pat in TX |
#3
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Sorry, it seems to me as if you are reading between the lines looking
for evidence of bias. I just don't see any. I suppose if you only have this one article to look at, you might not see what I mean. However, being a writer myself, I am constantly looking for good examples and poor examples of journalism. It turns out that virtually every article I read about an auto/bike accident describes what the cyclist did, but not what the driver did. 1. "A cyclist was seriously injured when he attempted to cross a three-lane turnpike." 2. "The cyclist was hit by the vehicle while trying to turn left onto Bagatelle Road." 3. "The cyclist was struck and killed when the light turned green and he proceeded eastbound through the intersection." In example 1, was he crossing legally, with traffic, on a green light, or was he drunk and attempting to dodge vehicles as he shot across a random portion of the turnpike? In example 2, was he making a left turn in the proper manner? Is Bagatelle Road a one-way street in the opposite direction? Was a distracted driver trying to beat the light by swerving around the bicyclist? And in example 3, isn't that what you do when the light turns green and you are going straight? I guess what I am saying is that, to be fair to cyclists (and I realize that we haven't necessarily earned it), example #1 should probably read: "An automobile collided with a bicycle on a three-lane turnpike, seriously injuring the bicyclist." #2 might read: "An automobile and a bicycle collided at the intersection of ????? and Bagatelle Road." And #3 would be less subtly-biased if it read "An automobile struck and killed a bicyclist who was heading eastbound on ??? Road." |
#4
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
To me all these examples that Papa Tom reports subtly mean only one
thing. That a cyclist should better not do whatever he would otherwise have right to. Everyday, while on my bike, I resist being scared by motor vehicle drivers brandishing their armour at me. Sergio Pisa |
#5
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
On Apr 27, 8:44*pm, "Papa Tom" wrote:
Sorry, it seems to me as if you are reading between the lines looking for evidence of bias. I just don't see any. I suppose if you only have this one article to look at, you might not see what I mean. *However, being a writer myself, I am constantly looking for good examples and poor examples of journalism. *It turns out that virtually every article I read about an auto/bike accident describes what the cyclist did, but not what the driver did. 1. *"A cyclist was seriously injured when he attempted to cross a three-lane turnpike." Almost blame-neutral. 2. *"The cyclist was hit by the vehicle while trying to turn left onto Bagatelle Road." Blame-neutral. 3. *"The cyclist was struck and killed when the light turned green and he proceeded eastbound through the intersection." Blame-unclear. Was the light green in the cyclist's direction or did someone crossing his path do a jack rabbit takeoff when the light changed? People on bikes are just as sketchy operators as drivers - either could be at fault. You are assuming that the cyclist was doing the right thing which is just as egregious of an error as assuming the cyclist was doing the wrong thing. R |
#6
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Hmm. Nobody seems to agree with me, so I guess I'll just keep it to myself
from now on. Just for the record, though, I strongly disagree that these examples do not imply a guilty verdict with regard to the bicyclists. However, I want you guys to know that I am IN NO WAY suggesting that the bicyclist is always an innocent victim. In fact, given the way so many of us ride, I wouldn't doubt the bicyclist is USUALLY the guilty party in these collisions. Two more examples, though, and then I'll drop it.... Last night, I took a short (10 mile r/t) ride to an outdoor restaurant for dinner. I wasn't with my wife this time out, so I decided to take some busier roads that I've been navigating on a bicycle for most of my 46 years. In the few minutes I spent on the road going to and returning from the restaurant, I just missed being squashed not once, but TWICE, by vehicles that were being driven irresponsibly. In one case, I was traveling straight ahead as I approached a teenager talking on her cell phone and mindlessly making a right turn onto a three-lane turnpike. The girl never once looked at the road to see if there was any oncoming traffic. Fortunately, my eyes are all over the place when I ride and I caught a glimpse of the girl in plenty of time to slow down and let her make her turn. A driver in the right lane (my immediate left) did not see her, though, until the very last second. As she shot out from the side road, the other driver (who was also on a cell phone)jammed on his brakes, producing the most gut-wrenching screech you could ever dread hearing when you're on a bicycle. I came to a complete stop; the driver in the right lane swerved into the road shoulder about seven feet in front of me; the girl smiled, gave everybody the finger, and drove off, never missing a second of her cell phone conversation. Had the second automobile veered into my lane a few feet sooner - injuring or killing me - I believe the news article would have read something like "The bicyclist was heading north on heavily-trafficked Rt. 106 when witnesses say he stopped suddenly for a vehicle making a right turn from a side road. A second vehicle then swerved out of the right lane to avoid the situation and crushed the bicyclist." In the other incident, I needed to make a wide left turn that involved crossing six lanes of traffic (same road as above). This is a turn I have made hundreds of times on a bicycle since I was a teenager. Essentially, it's an exit from a shopping mall with several lanes of traffic and a stop light. The three left lanes are required to make a left turn. The right lane is required to go straight only. As I always do, I lined myself up in the rightmost lane designated for left turns. As I always do, I made eye contact with all the drivers around me and made sure they knew exactly what I was going to do. As I always do, I waited for the light, proceeded forward, looked back at the driver to my left, and signaled him that it was safe to pass me, as I was headed toward the right shoulder of the road perpendicular to us. Just as the driver to my left passed me, a driver in the lane to my right (the "straight only" lane) decided that he, too, was going to make a left turn. I gazed to my right just in time to see this guy pass within inches of my right pedal and completely cut me off in the middle of a major turnpike. He never even looked at me. Again, I'm envisioning the news article. "The cyclist was struck by a vehicle as he attempted to make a left turn in heavy traffic near the Broadway Mall." In just about every case I see, there is implied guilt thrust upon the bicyclist. I know it's there by the way people react to these stories. "Damned bicyclists should be thrown in jail!" "That's what you get for riding on the street instead of the sidewalk, idiot!" In closing, I'm just going to ask that journalists everywhere keep this in mind when you cover a story about a bicycle-auto accident. Yes, the bicyclist is often at fault, but certainly not ALWAYS. When you write an article, have an open mind. |
#7
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Papa Tom wrote:
:: Hmm. Nobody seems to agree with me, so I guess I'll just keep it to :: myself from now on. No, no need for that. I am just saying that your examples haven't (yet) shown bias. Maybe some articles do. We had a young boy killed nearby the day before yesterday when he rode his bike out of a driveway and t-boned a car. Needless death. But, that's the way it was reported. It's hard to blame the driver when something like that happens (although I have stressed to my sons to always scan the road left and right to watch for kids chasing puppies, etc.) So, today I get up and am driving in the FOG and find a teenager on a bicycle riding the wrong way coming towards me (in my car). Maybe as many cyclists as car drivers simply do not think while they are operating their vehicles? Pat |
#8
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
On 28 Apr, 17:48, "PatTX" wrote:
Maybe as many cyclists as car drivers simply do not think while they are operating their vehicles? I would agree on that while still maintaining that there is often an aggressive attitude from motorists, which makes a lot of a difference while negotiating. traffic. Plus, unless things have changed on Long Island since I was there, I often felt drivers simply thought a bike 'should not be there'. Sergio Pisa |
#9
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Maybe as many cyclists as car drivers simply do not think while they are
operating their vehicles? I absolutely, 100% agree. I just find that there's a rush to judgment in a lot of these articles that is not healthy for bicyclist-driver relations. Seriously, though...You don't have to agree and I do not intend to judge or flame anybody for other opinions. I just thought I'd put this out there for discussion. Now, before some venomous troll stumbles upon this thread and starts to bash ALL of us, we should probably leave it alone! |
#10
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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists
Papa Tom wrote:
::::: Maybe as many cyclists as car drivers simply do not think while ::::: they are operating their vehicles? :: :: I absolutely, 100% agree. I just find that there's a rush to :: judgment in a lot of these articles that is not healthy for :: bicyclist-driver relations. :: :: Seriously, though...You don't have to agree and I do not intend to :: judge or flame anybody for other opinions. I just thought I'd put :: this out there for discussion. Now, before some venomous troll :: stumbles upon this thread and starts to bash ALL of us, we should :: probably leave it alone! Do you suppose that car drivers have a negative view of cyclists because there are so many children who ride bicycles and do "unusual" things? After all, car drivers are supposed to be knowledgeable in the motor vehicle laws whereas most children are not concerned with what the law states. When I was in Germany, people there used to say that American drivers were "reckless", had more accidents, etc. BUT, what they failed to realize was that in America, we have both teenage drivers AND elderly drivers---neither of which is on the road in Germany. If our licenses cost as much as the German ones, then maybe our accident rates would go down to match theirs ( in miles per car driven, etc.). Pat |
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