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Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 27th 09, 10:10 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
Papa Tom
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Posts: 369
Default Another example of slanted journalism re bicyclists

I can't seem to find the thread that dealt with this a few weeks back, so
I'll start a new one. My thesis is that journalists - whether consciously
or subconsciously - tend to report all bicycle-car collisions in a way that
makes the cyclist look like he/she was riding carelessly, breaking the law,
etc.

The previous article I cited was a better example than the one below, but
check this one out anyway:

Bicyclist critically injured after being hit by car
BY JENNIFER BARRIOS |
11:23 AM EDT, April 27, 2009
A bicycle rider was in critical condition with a head injury after he was
hit by a car Sunday in Brentwood, Suffolk police said.

Police on Monday identified the bicyclist as Abel Camacho, 63, of Brentwood.

Camacho was hit while trying to cross in front of a 1994 Toyota Camry driven
by Gilberto Romero, 36, of Freeport, police said.

The crash occurred about 1:35 p.m. as Romero drove northbound on Washington
Avenue at Jackson Street in Brentwood. Camacho was flown to Stony Brook
University Medical Center with a severe head injury. (END OF ARTICLE)

Notice the line that reads "Camacho was hit while trying to cross in front
of a 1994 Toyota Camry driven by..." Do we know whether the cyclist was
riding recklessly across an intersection or whether he was following the
rules of the road? Do we know if he was crossing on a green or a red light?
Do we know if the driver failed to stop at a STOP sign? All we are told is
that Mr. Camacho was trying to "cross in front of an automobile," implying
that he should NOT have been doing such a thing.

This type of irresponsible writing perpetuates the misguided attitude among
automobilists that all cyclists are wild and dangerous and need to be kept
away from the roads, lest drivers might have to look away from their iPhones
every once in a while to avoid colliding with them. I hope members of our
community will continue to point these little injustices out to those who
cover bicycle-auto accidents in their communities. My guess is that
Jennifer Barrios meant no harm, but that her underlying attitude toward
bicyclists may have been shaped by years of unfounded remarks by the people
around her.


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  #2  
Old April 27th 09, 11:52 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
PatTX[_3_]
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Posts: 156
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 01:44 AM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
Papa Tom
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Posts: 369
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 09:55 AM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
sergio
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Posts: 504
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 02:31 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
RicodJour
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Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 03:59 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
Papa Tom
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Posts: 369
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 04:48 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
PatTX[_3_]
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Posts: 156
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 05:19 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
sergio
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Posts: 504
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 05:24 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
Papa Tom
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Posts: 369
Default 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  
Old April 28th 09, 08:54 PM posted to rec.bicycles.rides
PatTX[_3_]
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Posts: 156
Default 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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