Interesting article at Slate,
In Defense of Jaywalking, where the author describes how the media and others often slant coverage of pedestrian vs auto accidents--examples include
San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe , and
New York Post columns.
Police, who are typically car-bound, are often
biased in favor of other drivers.
Not unexpectedly the Federal Highway Administration has
curious language regarding walkers--"Still, almost no one can avoid occasional pedestrian status". Even the term
jaywalking is commonly
misused.
Solutions? More money towards safer walking (including a reversal of
funding policies that favor cars), better places to walk, pedestrian-friendly engineering, lower urban speed limits, harsher penalties for drivers that violate pedestrian's rights, and critical reading of the often
selective and sensationalized media coverage of traffic crashes.
posted by aerotive
on Nov 10, 2009 -
100 comments
As the war in Iraq nears its fourth anniversary, and with no end in sight, Americans are owed explanations. The Senate Intelligence Committee has promised a report on whether the Bush administration misrepresented intelligence to justify the war against Iraq. An explanation is due also for how the U.S. press helped pave the way for war. An independent and thorough inquiry of pre-war press coverage would be a public service. Not least of the beneficiaries would be the press itself, which could be helped to understand its behavior and avoid a replay.
Cranberg wants a serious probe of why the press failed in its pre-war reporting
posted by y2karl
on Feb 10, 2007 -
57 comments
Finally the NYT offers up an analysis of its pre-war coverage. "But we have found a number of instances of coverage that was not as rigorous as it should have been. In some cases, information that was controversial then, and seems questionable now, was insufficiently qualified or allowed to stand unchallenged. Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged — or failed to emerge."
posted by raaka
on May 26, 2004 -
35 comments
Isn't this what insurance is for? DC/Baltimore got pounded with snow a few weeks ago and it's caused some issues throughout the region. It seems that folks are reluctant to file claims because their home owners insurance carriers are liable to drop them.
I know that life isn't fair, but isn't this why you pay for insurance?
posted by cpfeifer
on Mar 10, 2003 -
20 comments
CNN Wins Ratings for Shuttle Coverage Despite the absence of chief anchor Aaron Brown, CNN scored a significant ratings victory over rival Fox News Channel on Saturday when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated
Reading that immediately reminds me of what I hate about the news media.
One can only imagine how they are salivating over the pending Iraq situation.
posted by a3matrix
on Feb 4, 2003 -
17 comments
Do you think that CNN has the best coverage so far? I've appreciated that they've tried not to be too inflammatory.
BBC has been much more graphic (honest) but I think evoking anti-Arab sentiment is a serious fear of the American networks when they choose not to show Arabs celebrating.
MSNBC seems to be doing a pretty fair job. I'm not paranoid but is anyone else wondering what else is being withheld. (Sorry for the boring post but I really wonder who people have been impressed or disappointed with so far.)
posted by wsfinkel
on Sep 12, 2001 -
61 comments
