Domestic Cars: Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week

Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week

Posted by Camero Racer on 6/2/2008, 2:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week"
75.36.70.249

This should come as "No Surprise" too anyone who has read the Los Angeles Times through the years. The Times has always been and always will be a leftist newspaper, it has a reputation for "Slanting the News" for their own personal gain or to go along with whatever politician they are supporting at any given time. From the start a journalism student learns to report a story, using “Hard Facts” and only report, “Who, When, What, Where and Why” and leave your personal feelings out of the story, well guess what? That is not way the L. A. Times operates!

As for quoting people, they have been sued so many times for printing “Miss Quotes” that their lawyers must have writers cramp, from filing court rebuttals. They get around this buy placing a small “We made a mistake” line or two in the back of the paper somewhere that would take a detective to find.

--Previous Message--
: press box
: Bogus Trend Story of the Week
: The Los Angeles Times on Southern California
: street racing.
: By Jack Shafer
: Posted Friday, Oct. 12, 2007, at 6:16 PM ET
:
: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:
: One way newspapers indemnify themselves
: against charges that they've published a
: bogus trend story is by constructing ledes
: that essentially say this isn't a trend
: story because it's been going on for a long
: time.
:
: The Los Angeles Times follows this course in
: Thursday's (Oct. 11) Page One story
: "Street racing takes on a deadly new
: form." The triple-bylined piece
: acknowledges at its start that young Los
: Angelinos were street racing well before the
: hot-rod fad of the 1950s. It concedes that
: despite spending "decades" trying
: to stop the racers, police are still
: "struggling to fight the
: practice."
:
: But then, as the piece starts piling up
: body-count anecdotes—reporting that
: "nearly 100 people die each year in
: California as a result of illegal street
: racing"—it gently morphs into an
: unsubstantiated trend story about the
: changing face of street racing:
:
: Detectives said they are increasingly seeing
: a particularly dangerous form of racing,
: called "cutting the gap"—impromptu
: speed contests in which racers weave in and
: out of traffic.
:
: Note the imprecision of the detectives'
: testimony. If this dangerous form of racing
: is increasing, what's the measure? Don't
: look for it in the story. Also, if
: "nearly 100 people die each year in
: California as a result of illegal street
: racing," is the number going up or
: down? Again, don't look for it in the story.
:
: After recounting another racing anecdote—one
: that took the life of Reyna De Leon—the
: story returns to its
: "increasingly" theme. The
: reporters write:
:
: The type of race that killed De Leon is
: becoming increasingly common, police said.
:
: Again, the piece provides no numbers, just
: the opinion of unnamed "police."
:
: Cops can be terrific sources—as long as you
: don't care whether they know what they're
: talking about. This lesson seems to be lost
: on the Los Angeles Times. If the observation
: that types of racing are increasing is good
: enough to bear repeating, surely some sort
: of documentation exists to support it.
: Right?
:
: The only surefire way to prove a trend's
: genuineness is to measure progress over
: time. The Times story sort of gets that,
: stating:
:
: In the past, most drag racers waited until
: night when traffic cleared up to stage their
: races, contacting each other on cellphones
: and Internet message boards to set dates and
: times for the illegal contests.
:
: Now, [LAPD Det. David] Millan and others
: said, a growing number of daredevils are
: embracing the thrill of rush-hour racing,
: leading to broad-daylight deaths of innocent
: bystanders.
:
: But "In the past" isn't a very
: precise interval. From context we can assume
: that the Times is referring to a time when
: young racers had access to cell phones and
: Internet message boards, which could be a
: single week last month or the two years
: between 1995 and 1998. Also note the
: nebulous observation sourced to Det. Millan
: and "others" that "a growing
: number of daredevils are embracing the
: thrill of rush-hour racing." If numbers
: are really growing, a theme the piece
: returns to for the third time, why not
: provide numbers? Perhaps because the numbers
: don't exist?
:
: When Times reporters finally deliver the
: hard, useful numbers the story cries out
: for, they write:
:
: From 2000 through 2006, drivers pleaded
: guilty to illegal speed contests in about
: 50,000 cases, according to the Department of
: Motor Vehicles. Last year, about 6,100
: drivers pleaded guilty to drag racing,
: according to the DMV.
:
: By applying arithmetic to these numbers we
: learn that, on average, about 7,142 street
: racing guilty pleas were entered yearly over
: seven years. But only 6,100 guilty pleas
: were entered last year. One could argue by
: this crude measure that statewide racing is
: down or holding steady!
:
: Why, then, does the paper tilt the story in
: the other direction? If I, too, can be
: allowed to present anecdote as proof, it may
: be that the intense coverage of Los Angeles
: street racing provided by local TV news
: raises the perceptions that racing is
: growing when it really isn't. Gentlemen and
: ladies of the Los Angeles Times, please
: restart your engines.
:
: ******
:
: Thanks to reader William Murray, who alerted
: me to the article and suggested the
: arithmetic. Send bogus trend stories and
: other anecdotal evidence to
: slate.pressbox@gmail. (E-mail may be quoted
: by name in "The Fray," Slate's
: readers' forum, in a future article, or
: elsewhere unless the writer stipulates
: otherwise. Permanent disclosure: Slate is
: owned by the Washington Post Co.)
:
: Jack Shafer is Slate's editor at large.
:
: Article URL:
: http://www.slate.com/id/2175810/
:
:
: Copyright 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek
: Interactive Co. LLC
:

Message Thread:

AV Press article - Mr Duck 5/8/2008, 5:45 pm
- Re: AV Press article - Fred 5/11/2008, 10:50 am
  - Re: AV Press article - BSR 6/1/2008, 7:18 am
    - Re: Europe's first legal street race event. - BSR 6/2/2008, 2:02 pm
      - Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week - BSR 6/2/2008, 2:07 pm
        
        Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week - Camero Racer 6/2/2008, 2:49 pm
        
        Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week - WATER BOY 6/3/2008, 1:47 pm
        
        Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week - BSR 6/3/2008, 10:01 am
        
        Re: Bogus Trend Story of the Week - Bill(POP)smith 6/5/2008, 9:45 am
« Back to thread

Post a Response

Your Name:

Your Email:

Subject:

Message:

--Previous Message-- : This should come as "No Surprise" : too anyone who has read the Los Angeles : Times through the years. The Times has : always been and always will be a leftist : newspaper, it has a reputation for : "Slanting the News" for their own : personal gain or to go along with whatever : politician they are supporting at any given : time. From the start a journalism student : learns to report a story, using “Hard Facts” : and only report, “Who, When, What, Where and : Why” and leave your personal feelings out of : the story, well guess what? That is not way : the L. A. Times operates! : : As for quoting people, they have been sued : so many times for printing “Miss Quotes” : that their lawyers must have writers cramp, : from filing court rebuttals. They get around : this buy placing a small “We made a mistake” : line or two in the back of the paper : somewhere that would take a detective to : find. : : : --Previous Message-- : press box : Bogus Trend Story of the Week : The Los Angeles Times on Southern California : street racing. : By Jack Shafer : Posted Friday, Oct. 12, 2007, at 6:16 PM ET : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : One way newspapers indemnify themselves : against charges that they've published a : bogus trend story is by constructing ledes : that essentially say this isn't a trend : story because it's been going on for a long : time. : : The Los Angeles Times follows this course in : Thursday's (Oct. 11) Page One story : "Street racing takes on a deadly new : form." The triple-bylined piece : acknowledges at its start that young Los : Angelinos were street racing well before the : hot-rod fad of the 1950s. It concedes that : despite spending "decades" trying : to stop the racers, police are still : "struggling to fight the : practice." : : But then, as the piece starts piling up : body-count anecdotes—reporting that : "nearly 100 people die each year in : California as a result of illegal street : racing"—it gently morphs into an : unsubstantiated trend story about the : changing face of street racing: : : Detectives said they are increasingly seeing : a particularly dangerous form of racing, : called "cutting the gap"—impromptu : speed contests in which racers weave in and : out of traffic. : : Note the imprecision of the detectives' : testimony. If this dangerous form of racing : is increasing, what's the measure? Don't : look for it in the story. Also, if : "nearly 100 people die each year in : California as a result of illegal street : racing," is the number going up or : down? Again, don't look for it in the story. : : After recounting another racing anecdote—one : that took the life of Reyna De Leon—the : story returns to its : "increasingly" theme. The : reporters write: : : The type of race that killed De Leon is : becoming increasingly common, police said. : : Again, the piece provides no numbers, just : the opinion of unnamed "police." : : Cops can be terrific sources—as long as you : don't care whether they know what they're : talking about. This lesson seems to be lost : on the Los Angeles Times. If the observation : that types of racing are increasing is good : enough to bear repeating, surely some sort : of documentation exists to support it. : Right? : : The only surefire way to prove a trend's : genuineness is to measure progress over : time. The Times story sort of gets that, : stating: : : In the past, most drag racers waited until : night when traffic cleared up to stage their : races, contacting each other on cellphones : and Internet message boards to set dates and : times for the illegal contests. : : Now, [LAPD Det. David] Millan and others : said, a growing number of daredevils are : embracing the thrill of rush-hour racing, : leading to broad-daylight deaths of innocent : bystanders. : : But "In the past" isn't a very : precise interval. From context we can assume : that the Times is referring to a time when : young racers had access to cell phones and : Internet message boards, which could be a : single week last month or the two years : between 1995 and 1998. Also note the : nebulous observation sourced to Det. Millan : and "others" that "a growing : number of daredevils are embracing the : thrill of rush-hour racing." If numbers : are really growing, a theme the piece : returns to for the third time, why not : provide numbers? Perhaps because the numbers : don't exist? : : When Times reporters finally deliver the : hard, useful numbers the story cries out : for, they write: : : From 2000 through 2006, drivers pleaded : guilty to illegal speed contests in about : 50,000 cases, according to the Department of : Motor Vehicles. Last year, about 6,100 : drivers pleaded guilty to drag racing, : according to the DMV. : : By applying arithmetic to these numbers we : learn that, on average, about 7,142 street : racing guilty pleas were entered yearly over : seven years. But only 6,100 guilty pleas : were entered last year. One could argue by : this crude measure that statewide racing is : down or holding steady! : : Why, then, does the paper tilt the story in : the other direction? If I, too, can be : allowed to present anecdote as proof, it may : be that the intense coverage of Los Angeles : street racing provided by local TV news : raises the perceptions that racing is : growing when it really isn't. Gentlemen and : ladies of the Los Angeles Times, please : restart your engines. : : ****** : : Thanks to reader William Murray, who alerted : me to the article and suggested the : arithmetic. Send bogus trend stories and : other anecdotal evidence to : slate.pressbox@gmail. (E-mail may be quoted : by name in "The Fray," Slate's : readers' forum, in a future article, or : elsewhere unless the writer stipulates : otherwise. Permanent disclosure: Slate is : owned by the Washington Post Co.) : : Jack Shafer is Slate's editor at large. : : Article URL: : http://www.slate.com/id/2175810/ : : : Copyright 2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek : Interactive Co. LLC : : :

Notify me by email of all message replies.

Please enter the numbers above. This helps stop spam.

By posting, you confirm that you have read and agreed to be bound by Boardhost's usage terms.

Remember Drag Racing Is Like Life....Thoes Who Snooz Lose!

Notice: This Board is for Racers only If you use this Board to Promote Events your Business or other Websites, your message will be deleted at once!!

Hosted for FREE by Boardhost.
Create your own free message board!