Give the media a break

Imagine for a moment that you’re sitting at work when your boss walks over and tells you he needs you to write a report and he needs it now. Right now. Not an hour from now or a day from now, but right now. Not only does he need the report now, he needs you to write it about a topic that you’re not that familiar with. Under those pressures, it’s unlikely you’re going to put out a stellar report.

That is exactly what happened in newsrooms and controls rooms all across New York City last Thursday when word came from Hoboken, New Jersey that an NJ Transit train had derailed. All across the region journalists sprung into action to report about a topic that many of them know little about: railroads.

Whenever a railroad accident makes national news – and it’s unfortunately been happening more often with a rash of explosive oil train wrecks and high profile incidents like Amtrak 188 – reporters will undoubtedly make mistakes. They may call the engineer a driver or ask about the locomotive’s steering wheel. And like clockwork, rail enthusiasts and railroaders will take to social media and forums to call the reporters naive or stupid.

But that’s not fair. For one thing, today’s journalists are working under extreme pressure to produce more content and that’s never more obvious than during major news events. And the era of having a beat reporter who focuses exclusively on one topic (like transportation) is a thing of the past. More often than not, reporters are writing about dozens of different topics every week. For example, at the newspaper I work at, I have to cover everything from criminal justice to tribal politics. Simply put, most reporters are a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none these days.

Another reason why journalists occasionally struggle with railroad-related topics is the simple fact that the industry plays a less prominent role in American’s every day lives. Fifty or sixty years ago, people were more likely to ride a passenger train on a regular basis or know someone who worked in the industry (in 1947, 1.5 million people worked in the railroad industry. Today, about 215,000 do). Because of that the general public just knows less about railroading and that includes journalists.

Lastly, a reporter’s story is only as good as the information they’re able to gather and in the hectic hours after a major breaking news event, little is known. Initial reports are often spotty and from people who themselves may not know the railroad industry well, like first responders and law enforcement.

Journalists should always strive to produce error-free reports, but unfortunately mistakes happen. When they do happen, instead of filling forums and comments sections with snide remarks about the reporter’s intelligence send them a note explaining their mistakes. The reporter will undoubtedly appreciate it and it’s a lot more productive.  

Simply put, when reporters make a mistake, give them a break.