BIKE: Statesman Editorial: Cyclists: Be Careful

[Thorne]

We might just say "fight fire with fire."  If we have a letter to the editor
that might turn folks against the cyclists (even if the letter writer is
rightly pointing to cycling wrongdoings), we might write a letter to the
editor that might turn folks toward us.

A letter might begin "I'm sad to hear a cyclist ran down a 9-y.o. on a
pedestrian path.  Most of us cyclists know it's wrong to ride recklessly and
that cycling is safer in the streets following traffic rules than it is riding
on pedestrian pathways to begin with . . . . "

Marketplace of ideas.

------ Original Message ------
Received: Mon, 04 Oct 2004 11:10:06 AM CDT
From: Michael Bluejay <bikes>
To: "A. Gelfand" <agelfand>Cc:
forum-bicycleaustin.info
Subject: Re: BIKE: Statesman Editorial: Cyclists: Be Careful


On Oct 4, 2004, at 8:54 AM, A. Gelfand wrote:

> My problem isn't so much on the letter but on lopsided coverage by the 
> Statesman, which, I recall, has yet to publish the big story on why 
> bicycling is legitimate transportation and why cyclists deserve as 
> much courtesy on the road as other vehicle operators.

Then why write about the letter and cite it as the problem?

This whole thread started by claiming bias in a "Statesman Editorial".  
But it wasn't an editorial by the Statesman, it was a letter to the 
editor.  We can't blame the Statesman for what their readers submit.

As for doing a "big story" on why cyclists deserve courtesy, that's 
hardly news, and definitely not the kind of thing you expect to see a 
daily newspaper covering.  Maybe in an editorial, but certainly not in 
a story.

I'm probably the mother of all critics of bicycle coverage in the 
Statesman but even to me all this seems like barking up the wrong tree. 
  The Statesman simply published a letter to the editor -- which, I 
might add, expressed a perfectly legitimate viewpoint that many 
cyclists on this list agree with, including myself.  And I certainly 
don't expect the Statesman to cover "courtesy" to cyclists.  There are 
a number of ways the Statesman could improve its reporting on cycling 
issues, but these are not some of them.

For more detailed criticism of the Statesman's bicycle reporting see:

	BicycleAustin.info >> Political/Legal >> Media Criticism

-MBJ-
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